Stargazers in the state tonight were treated to a rare celestial event: a full so-called supermoon combined with a lunar eclipse, which left the moon shrouded in an eerie red glow.
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For the first time since 1982, a “supermoon” coincided with a lunar eclipse on Sunday.
Clear skies allowed Christine Saunders to photograph the moon over Happy Valley-Goose Bay. At this point of time, the moon will look up to 14 per cent larger and 30 times brighter than usual. The process gives the sky its blue color, and it occurs because the many wavelengths of light that make up sunlight are selectively scattered by particles in Earth’s atmosphere.
Depending on the weathter, it was visible in North and South America, Europe, Africa and western Asia on Sunday night or early Monday. It began to be used in connection with Biblical prophesies, but has come to be used to describe the reddish hue seen on a super moon during a lunar eclipse. The totality will end at 8.53am and the moon will entirely emerge from the earth’s shadow at 9.57am.
The September 2015 full moon was dubbed a supermoon because it occurred during the perigee – the closest approach – of the moon’s monthly orbit of Earth.
It was last observed in 1982 and will not be seen again until 2033.
A super blood moon eclipse “precedes the coming of awful haircuts, regrettable makeup choices, poorly animated and conceived cartoon shows, and leg warmers”, announced Scott Finkelstein.
The lunar eclipse was also caught in series of snaps.
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Sunday night people across much of the world will be outside to watch a rare event: a supermoon eclipse. As we pass in between the moon and the sun, our shadow is cast all over the lunar surface, leaving a window of a few hours to observe this phenomenon.
