For the first time in 152 years, we are going to witness a rare celestial trifecta on early Wednesday, January 31st. Three lunar activities – a visible supermoon, a blue moon, and a blood moon – will coincide on Wednesday in the early morning to offer us an epic visual treat. The super blue blood moon 2018 will officially start at 5:51 AM Eastern Time, but the real thing won’t begin until 6:48 AM ET. You might have woken up a bit earlier than usual to witness it. How and where can you watch the livestream of the celestial event?
Is it possible to view the super blue blood moon 2018 in-person?
You’ll see the moon not only the turning a deep red color during the eclipse, but it will also appear bigger and brighter than usual. It’s the second full moon of January, meaning it would be a “blue moon” as well. During the super blue blood moon 2018 event, the moon would become 30% brighter and 14% bigger than usual. A supermoon is when the moon is closer to Earth in its orbit, appearing bigger than usual. It’s called blood moon because the celestial body would take a reddish tint while passing through the Earth’s shadow.
Space.com reports that people will be able to see the eclipse in-person in western Canada, California, Alaska, Hawaii, Australia and eastern Asia depending on the weather. If you live in other parts of the world, it would be a bit more challenging for you to watch the super blue blood moon 2018. The best time to watch the event will be 6:48 AM Eastern Time, right before sunrise. The moon will be near the horizon in the Western sky. The moon will be out of view by the time the total eclipse starts a 7:51, reports Vox.
NASA TV, Slooh, Griffith Observatory to live stream the event
NASA TV will be livestreaming the super blue blood moon 2018 for stargazers unable to experience it in person starting at 5:30 AM Eastern Time. Gordon Johnston, a program executive at NASA, said the viewing is going to the best in the western US. NASA TV’s live broadcast will feature views from telescopes at the Armstrong Flight Research Center, the Griffith Observatory, and the University of Arizona’s Mt. Lemmon SkyCenter Observatory.
Gordon Johnston added that Alaska, West Coast, and Hawaii would have “a spectacular view of totality from start to finish.” The viewing will be quite challenging on the East Coast. The Midwest also has a good chance of witnessing the eclipse just before sunrise.
Besides NASA TV, the Slooh online telescope will livestream the super blue blood moon 2018 starting at 5:45 AM EST. Slooh’s livecast will feature views from observatories in Australia, Hawaii, and Asia. Slooh experts will start narrating the webcast live starting at 7 AM ET on Wednesday.
The Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles will also livestream the eclipse between 6:30 AM ET and 11 AM ET. The Griffith Observatory also plans to post a time-lapse footage of the video it records later on YouTube as well as its website. It could be a good option for you if you wake up a little late on Wednesday.
Why is it “blue” and “blood” moon
The next total lunar eclipse would occur on January 21, 2019, but it will only be a super blue moon without the reddish tint. The blue moon doesn’t actually have anything to do with the color. It is called “blue” moon mainly because it is the second full moon in a calendar month. The Wednesday’s event is “blood” moon too because the moon will line up perfectly with the Earth and Sun in a way that blocks out the sun. Thanks to a process called Rayleigh scattering, the moon gets a fiery “blood” red color. The Rayleigh scattering occurs when the Sun’s rays pass through Earth’s atmosphere and the violet hues are filtered out, causing only the red hues to come through.
The super blue blood moon 2018 will not only be a spectacular celestial event, but it will also give scientists an opportunity to study what happens when the surface of the moon cools quickly. It will help them better understand the characteristics of the regolith – the mix of rocks and soil the lunar surface.
