Supermoon, Blue Moon and an Eclipse - a true Celestial Trilogy to be witnessed on 31st January 2018

As we have already been treated with the full Moon on 1^st January 2018, there is another treat awaits us on January 31. It will be the last in the trilogy of super moons. As per NASA’s report the first happened on December 3, 2017. A supermoon is a full moon at its nearest point to the earth on its orbit, also known as Perigee. So what makes this supermoon so special? There are three things: it is the third in the series of supermoons, it will be about 14 percent brighter than usual and lastly it will also be the second full moon of the month, usually known as ‘blue moon.’ So it becomes the ‘the super blue moon’ which appears every two and a half years on average. Giving viewers in precise position a total lunar eclipse, it will pass through Earth’s shadow. Gordon Johnston, programme executive and lunar blogger at NASA Headquarters in Washington, stated that while the moon is in the Earth’s shadow it will turn slightly reddish, which is known as ‘blood moon.’ This lunar eclipse will can be viewed from Western North America through the Pacific to Eastern Asia. For the people living in Alaska, North America, or Hawaii, the eclipse will be observable before sunrise on 31^st January. However, for those in the Asia, Middle East, Australia and New Zealand, Eastern Russia, the ‘super blue blood moon’ can be seen during moonrise in the morning on the 31st. For all the North Americans “if you don’t want to wait for another year to see the moon turning red and blue set your alarms early, go out and take a look.” Says Johnston. For those who did not know we also had a Supermoon in December. About 7 percent larger and 15 percent brighter it marked the first and only supermoon of the year 2017.