To all the sky watchers and star gazers, the Super Blue Blood Moon of 31st Jan is going to be one of the most special spectacular and rarest of the events that will be occurring after ages.
What we all will be witnessing today on 31st Jan is one of the rarest events of the century. As the phrase goes "Once in a blue moon" is turning up on the sky tonight. This event is so rare that it is going to occur after more than 150 years of time. Last time a super blue blood moon occurred was on March 31, 1866.
A super blue blood moon is such an alignment of the three celestial bodies (Sun, Moon, and Earth) where three such events occur. To put it simply, a super blue blood moon is combination of supermoon, blue moon and a total lunar eclipse.
A supermoon is not just a full moon but it also implies that the moon will be closer to the earth than usual. It will be closest to the earth so that it will be seen 30 percent brighter and 14 percent bigger than the full moons that are at the farthest from the earth.
Similarly, a blue moon has nothing to do with the actual color blue. Rather it’s just an expression for the second full moon in a calendar month. A blue moon occurred last time on July 2015 and in 2018. Also we won't be seeing another blue moon for another 19 years.
Blood moon is used to describe a total lunar eclipse as it causes the Moon to turn into a dark reddish color. As the light bends around the earth because of gravity passing around atmosphere, the suns light shines onto the lunar surface giving it a reddish-orange appearance.
Combining all of these three events is what we are going to witness on 31st January 2018.
The super blue blood moon can be seen on the morning of January 31st in North America, Hawaii and Alaska. However, the best view will be seen from the west coast of the US. NASA plans to broadcast a live stream of the Moon starting at 5:30 AM ET.