It is a rare lunar event that many people around the world are waiting to witness today (Jan 31), a total lunar eclipse. One of the best parts of it is it will coincide with the phenomena of a super-moon and a blue moon. And this is the first lunar eclipse of 2018. Many parts of the globe may catch a glimpse Wednesday of a giant crimson moon, thanks to a rare lunar trifecta.
While some of the events will be visible to everyone, only select parts of the world will get to see the full collision of three events. The lunar eclipse will be fully visible only to people in the east of Asia and the West of the US, though more of the world will get to see some of it.
A phenomenon such as this has always fascinated people, and while Indian Vedic texts and other similar scriptures do have mentions of it, there are several myths and superstitions associated with it as well. Since no one challenged them, those superstitions have continued, and so have the stories associated with them.
This rare ‘super blood blue moon’ hasn’t been seen in the last 36 years. In India, though lunar eclipse is not a rare phenomenon as it will be a blue moon, it is rarely observed. “The last ‘Blue Moon’ total lunar eclipse visible from the US and North America happened on 31 March 1866.”
What is Blue Moon?
The second full moon in a month refers to a blue moon. On this day, the moon comes 90 percent closer to earth. It appears 30 percent brighter and 14 percent bigger. A totally eclipsed Moon, sometimes called a Blood Moon, usually looks red, so this may be a rare opportunity to see a red Blue Moon. If this isn’t enough, it is also almost a super-moon, earning it the nickname Super Blue Blood Moon.
The last time a total lunar eclipse coincided with a blue moon in the United States was in March 1866.
What’s The Time To See?
The total eclipse will last from 4:51 a.m. PT to 6:08 a.m. PT across the western US. In the Eastern Time Zone, the moon will have set before it the eclipse occurs. So, the farther west you live, the more of the eclipse you’ll see.
“The eclipse is really the most spectacular of the events because those are the ones that are the most visually stunning. The super-moon is wonderful because you get to see this slightly larger, brighter moon in the night sky, but it’s really the eclipse that’s going to obscure the super-moon, the brightness will change to that beautiful rusty red color that people are accustomed to seeing during lunar eclipses,” a scientist from NASA said.
There is no medical evidence but people still believe that eclipse could affect their health and could also impact their mental health. They have this belief that the eclipse can impact people’s behavior, their health, wealth or even their luck may lead to a cosmological influence on human life. However, it must be noted that there is no scientific backing to these claims.