For the first time in 33 years, a “supermoon” will occur at the same time as a full lunar eclipse, said Michael Allen, astronomy instructor at Washington State University.
Advertisement
The eerie light created from a lunar eclipse with the moon near to its closest point to the Earth delighted amateur astronomers and photographers, while filling others with dread.
A total lunar eclipse happens when the full moon passes through the umbra, the darkest part of Earth’s shadow.
So, we had a massive red moon in the sky for a short amount of time, which must have confused werewolves no end.
The spectacle lasted about 71 minutes, reaching its peak at 3.47am.
This rare phenomenon of a supermoon and blood-red moon together was last seen during 1982 and will recur only in 2033.
CLICK the “Submit your Photo” button below to send in your supermoon lunar eclipse pics!
It is dubbed the “blood moon” because the eclipse makes an orange, reddish appearance of the moon.
You can see it with a naked eye, unlike the solar eclipse – which involves the sun and you would need to put on a few glasses for protection against the Sunday. Showtime on the U.S. East Coast is 10:11 p.m. EDT (0211 GMT); that’s when the moon, Earth and sun will be lined up, with Earth’s shadow totally obscuring the moon.
NASA photographer Aubrey Gemignani captured this stunning view of the perigee moon lunar eclipse over the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. on September 27, 2015.
The Earth’s shadow will start making its way across the moon at 8:11 p.m. ET.
Advertisement
“But people from North and South America, well nearly everybody, and people in Europe will see the moon as bigger and also “blood red” in colour”.
