�Super blood moon� to give stargazers a rare show

For the first time in decades, skygazers are in for the double spectacle Monday of a swollen “supermoon” bathed in the blood-red light of a total eclipse, reports AFP from Paris. The celestial show, visible from the Americas, Europe, Africa, west Asia and the east Pacific, will be the result of the Sun, Earth and a larger-than-life, extra-bright Moon lining up for just over an hour from 0211 GMT. “It will be quite exciting and especially dramatic,” predicted astronomer Sam Lindsay of the Royal Astronomical Society in London. “It’ll be brighter than usual, bigger than usual.” The Moon will be at its closest orbital point to Earth, called perigee, while also in its brightest phase.
The resulting “supermoon” will look 30 percent brighter and 14 percent larger than when at apogee, the farthest point—which is about 49,800 kilometres (31,000 miles) from perigee.
Unusually, our planet will take position in a straight line between the Moon and the Sun, blotting out the direct sunlight that normally makes our satellite glow whitish-yellow. But some light will still creep around Earth’s edges and be filtered through its atmosphere, casting an eerie red light that creates the “blood moon”.
The Moon travels to a similar position every month, but the tilt of its orbit means it normally passes above or below the Earth’s shadow—so most months have a full moon minus eclipse.
For people younger than 33, this will be their first-ever chance to see a “super blood moon”. The last, only the fifth recorded since 1900, was in 1982, according to the NASA space agency, and the next will not be until 2033.
If the weather holds, that is—the spectacle would not be visible behind cloud cover. On top of the wow factor, the event is also of great interest for researchers.
Over a 24-day cycle, the temperature on the surface of our satellite normally ambles between highs of about 121 degrees Celsius (250 degrees Fahrenheit) in direct sunlight, and lows around minus 115 C in the shade.
These changes help researchers study the composition of the crust, as rocks warm and cool slower than sand-like dust.
“That almost instant change tells us about the upper few centimetres of the surface. We’re getting a very fine, unique measurement of the uppermost surface,” Petro told AFP.

 

�Super blood moon� to give stargazers a rare show

For the first time in decades, skygazers are in for the double spectacle Monday of a swollen supermoon bathed in the blood-red light of a total eclipse, reports AFP from Paris. The celestial show, visible from the Americas, Europe, Africa, west Asia and the east Pacific, will be the result of the Sun, Earth and a larger-than-life, extra-bright Moon lining up for just over an hour from 0211 GMT. It will be quite exciting and especially dramatic, predicted astronomer Sam Lindsay of the Royal Astronomical Society in London. Itll be brighter than usual, bigger than usual. The Moon will be at its closest orbital point to Earth, called perigee, while also in its brightest phase. The resulting supermoon will look 30 percent brighter and 14 percent larger than when at apogee, the farthest pointwhich is about 49,800 kilometres (31,000 miles) from perigee. Unusually, our planet will take position in a straight line between the Moon and the Sun, blotting out the direct sunlight that normally makes our satellite glow whitish-yellow. But some light will still creep around Earths edges and be filtered through its atmosphere, casting an eerie red light that creates the blood moon. The Moon travels to a similar position every month, but the tilt of its orbit means it normally passes above or below the Earths shadowso most months have a full moon minus eclipse. For people younger than 33, this will be their first-ever chance to see a super blood moon. The last, only the fifth recorded since 1900, was in 1982, according to the NASA space agency, and the next will not be until 2033. If the weather holds, that isthe spectacle would not be visible behind cloud cover. On top of the wow factor, the event is also of great interest for researchers. Over a 24-day cycle, the temperature on the surface of our satellite normally ambles between highs of about 121 degrees Celsius (250 degrees Fahrenheit) in direct sunlight, and lows around minus 115 C in the shade. These changes help researchers study the composition of the crust, as rocks warm and cool slower than sand-like dust. That almost instant change tells us about the upper few centimetres of the surface. Were getting a very fine, unique measurement of the uppermost surface, Petro told AFP.