Don’t Miss the Super Blue Blood Moon on January 31

Fort Worth, TX (January 30, 2018) — The countdown is on for stargazers, with the rarest of lunar events only hours away. The Super Blue Blood Moon will be visible beginning in the wee hours of the morning, Wednesday January 31. While lunar eclipses are not uncommon, it’s the timing of this event which makes it such a special event. This is the first time in more than 150 years a Super Blue Blood Moon will be visible across North America.

So, what exactly is a Super Blue Blood Moon? It’s a convergence of three distinct lunar events: a lunar eclipse, which produces a blood moon, occurring with the second full moon of the month, also known as a blue moon. To cap it off, the eclipse will occur exactly at the same time the moon is closest to the Earth in its orbit, creating a supermoon.

“During a lunar eclipse, all direct light from the sun onto the moon is blocked by the Earth,” said Dr. Doug Roberts, Fort Worth Museum of Science and History Chief Technology Officer. “The remaining light that filters through our atmosphere is reddened, thus coining the name blood moon.” Dr. Roberts continues, “Although the moon won’t actually look noticeably larger or blue, this is still a great opportunity to get out and reconnect with our closest cosmic neighbor.”

Set your alarms early because the total lunar eclipse will begin at 6:51 AM (CST) on Wednesday morning, and don’t worry, unlike a solar eclipse, no special viewing devices are necessary to experience the lunar eclipse. Dr. Roberts elaborates, “Lunar eclipses are great events because they are easily and safety viewed by large numbers of people – basically, if the moon is above the horizon and weather permits, you just have to remember to get up at the right time to observe it.” Dr. Roberts suggests, “Get up between 5:48 AM and 7:27 AM on Wednesday morning, and look to the west to see the lunar eclipse. It will start as a partial eclipse and will move into a total lunar eclipse.”