The total lunar eclipse on Wednesday would be visible from India with the moon taking a red brown glow, also called the "Blood Moon", the BM Birla Science Centre's Director, BG Sidharth, said here today.
The event would also bring about the Blue Moon and the Super Moon phenomena, a release from the centre said.
Explaining the phenomenon, Sidharth said that during the lunar eclipse, the earth comes exactly between the sun and the moon and the earth's shadow falls on the moon.
"If the three are almost exactly on the same line, we have a total lunar eclipse. Even during a total lunar eclipse, some of the sun's rays get refracted through the earth's atmosphere and strike the moon, which thereby takes on a low brown red glow which is what will happen on January 31st. Some people call this the Blood Moon," Sidharth said.
The total lunar eclipse, which can be seen from everywhere in India, begins at 5.20 pm with what is called the partial shadow or penumbra of the earth's shadow striking the moon, a release from the centre said.
The main eclipse will start around 6.25 pm after sunset and this can be seen in the eastern sky as the moon would have just risen by then, it added.
"A slight sliver of the moon first gets covered in what is called the umbra, the total shadow, and slowly this spreads for several minutes. After that, it will recede and in an hour's time, that is around 7.25 pm, the main part of the eclipse would be over," the release said.
The release informed that this would be the second full moon in the month and it is often called the "Blue Moon".
It said that the positions and distances of the moon and the earth, relative to the sun on this occasion, were such that the moon would appear slightly bigger (about 10 per cent or more) and a little brighter on this day.
"Such a circumstance is called a Super Moon. What this means is that there may be slightly higher tides in rivers and seas that day but nothing very alarming," the release said.
What is this Super blue blood moon?
Super moons occur when the full moon coincides with the Moon’s closest orbit point (perigee) to the planet. During a super moon, the Moon appears upto 14 per cent larger and 30 per cent brighter, according to NASA. Remember most celestial bodies in our solar system have an elliptical orbit. These include the orbit of the Earth around the Sun, as well as the orbit of the Moon. The farthest distance between the moon and the Earth is termed ‘apogee’, while the perigee is the nearest point between planet Earth and its satellite.
The reason this January 31 event is a Super blue blood moon is because this will also be a total lunar eclipse, when the satellite has reddish tinge to it. It is also the second total lunar eclipse in the month of January 2018, and according to NASA, a second total lunar eclipse during a month is called ‘blue moon’. Thus the Super moon has become a “super blue blood moon.”
What time can you spot it in India
The natural satellite will rise at 5:51 AM EST, which is 4:21 PM IST and set at 11:08 AM EST or 9:38 PM IST.
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