Mark your calendars at January 31 to see rare celestial event of Super Blue Blood Moon!

A rare celestial even is waiting for us on January 31. We will witness a very rare phenomenon, a super blue blood moon. This event will combine 03 phenomena at the same time; a blue moon, a Supermoon and a total lunar eclipse.

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It will appear for the first time in 150 years. We will witness massive Supermoon which will be 14% bigger and 30% brighter than usual. Supermoon occurs when the moon is at its closest approach to earth. That is because the moon’s orbit is oval shaped and not a circle.

The second part of the rare event is the Blue Moon. It is called the Blue Moon because it us the second full moon of this month. The phrase has nothing to do with the color of the moon.

The blue moon will coincide with a third event called total lunar eclipse. It is also called Blood Moon. There is famous English idiom, ‘once in a blue moon’ also refers to any rare incidence. It occurs when the Earth sits between the sun and the moon forcing sunlight to pass through the atmosphere. The atmosphere filters out most of the blue-colored light. What is left over is the orange and red colored light.

The total lunar eclipse can be viewed with naked eyes at the time of sunset, facing towards eastern sky. Choose a location with no tall buildings and trees so that view may not get blocked.

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These three events will coincide on January 31 in one amazing celestial sight. Time will vary depending on where you are located and the time zone you happen to find yourself in.

The best place to see it will be western North America, Asia, Australia and elsewhere across the Eastern Hemisphere. For people living in North America, Hawaii or Alaska, the rare phenomenon will be seen just before sunrise on Jan 31. In Middle East, Asia, Australia, Russia and New Zealand, it could be seen in the morning during moonrise.

“For the (continental) U.S., the viewing will be best in the West,” said Gordon Johnston, program executive and lunar blogger at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Set your alarm early and go out and take a look.”

The last time all three events lined up this perfectly was more than 150 years ago. The last time humans saw a total eclipse of a blue moon was in 1866. The next Blood Moon will be on January 19, 2019. It will also be a Supermoon but not a Blue Moon. It will be visible throughout all of the U.S.

Unlike solar eclipse, it is safe to look directly at the super blue blood moon. You can use binoculars if you want and snap some cool shots. Let us all enjoy this rare event which we would not be able to see again in our life.

According to studies done over decades, this super moon eclipse has no effect on human lives. We can’t be affected by the Moon’s gravity because we are too small. There are no any type of “dangerous rays” coming from the Moon and is has no effect on women pregnancy.
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