Monday, January 21, 2019

68 337 410 | SoCal Catches a Glimpse of Total Lunar Eclipse, Rare Super Blood Wolf Moon on Sunday Evening, January 20, 2019


hIt's not every year that a super blood wolf moon happens, so be sure to look up this weekend for one of the first skywatching events of 2019.

Most of the world will be able to catch a glimpse of this rare event, including Southern California. The Griffith Observatory said it will start streaming the event just before the moon rises at the facility at around 5:10 p.m. Pacific.

337 is the 68th prime number

Basically, this rare total lunar eclipse is happening at the same time as a supermoon. But there's a little more to it than that.

Lunar eclipses can occur only during a full moon, and this one is extra special because it's also a supermoon. A supermoon occurs when the moon is full and closest to Earth in orbit.

The moon will be in perfect alignment with the sun and Earth, with the moon on the opposite side of the Earth from the sun.

When the full moon moves into Earth's shadow, it will darken, but it won't disappear. Sunlight passing through Earth's atmosphere will light the moon in a dramatic fashion, turning it red.

This happens because blue light undergoes stronger atmospheric scattering, so red light will be the most dominant color highlighted as sunlight passes through our atmosphere and casts it on the moon.


So where does the "wolf" part come in? Each moon has its own name associated with the full moon. In January, it's known as the "wolf moon," inspired by hungry wolves that howled outside of villages long ago, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac.

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