Super Blue Blood Moon And Lunar Eclipse Jan 31: Watch In VA, DC

WASHINGTON, DC—Blue moons, supermoons and total lunar eclipse "blood moons" happen on occasion, but all three coinciding is a rare event that hasn't happened in over 150 years. That phenomenon will happen in the early morning hours of Wednesday, Jan. 31. Whether you’ll be able to see the lunar eclipse, especially, and the supermoon depends on where you live and the local weather forecast.

The best viewing areas will be in the West Coast, Alaska and Hawaii, according to Gordon Johnston, program executive and lunar blogger at NASA Headquarters. These areas will have an clear view of totality.

Viewers in Washington, D.C. may see something, but not much, according to NASA. The darker part of the Earth’s shadow will begin to blanket part of the moon with a reddish hue around 6:48 a.m. four degrees above the horizon in the northwest, but the moon will set at 7:13 a.m. The peak of the eclipse will be visible at 7:10 a.m. at just 0.4 degrees above the horizon.

“So your best opportunity if you live in the East is to head outside about 6:45 a.m. and get to a high place to watch the start of the eclipse—make sure you have a clear line of sight to the horizon in the west-northwest, opposite from where the Sun will rise,” Johnston said.

The eclipse aside, the supermoon will be spectacular, though appearing smaller than the two that preceded it. Check local eclipse viewing times here.

For some historical perspective, the last time a supermoon, blue moon and lunar eclipse coincided, on March 31, 1866, President Andrew Johnson was in the White House, America was about a year into Reconstruction from the Civil War and Congress was gathering votes to override Johnson’s veto of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, the first federal legislation to protect the rights of African-Americans, which Congress had overwhelmingly passed (it did override the veto, on April 9, 1866).

In more recent times, the Eastern Hemisphere saw the trifecta on Dec. 30, 1982.

A lunar eclipse can only happen at a full moon, and can occur a minimum of two times to a maximum of five times in a calendar year — there will be five lunar eclipses in 2018, according to Earthsky.org, but only the Jan. 31 lunar eclipse will be visible in the United States. The next time a total lunar eclipse will be visible in North America is Jan. 21, 2019, and it will be visible throughout all of the United States. It will also be a supermoon, but it won’t be a blue moon.

» See Also: 2018 Guide To Meteor Showers And Other Celestial Events

What do all those terms mean?

Supermoon: As NASA explains it, that’s when the moon reaches its closest point to Earth in its orbit, known as perigee, in a single orbit. The moon appears about 14 percent brighter than usual, and it also looks larger as it rises.

Blue moon: That’s the common name for the second full moon in a single month, but the moon does not take on a blue color. The first full moon of the month, also a supermoon,was on Jan.1. The occurrence of a blue moon means there won’t be a full moon in February. But March also has a blue moon.

Lunar eclipse: A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes through the Earth’s shadow, blocking the sun’s light, which would otherwise reflect off the moon. The most dramatic of the types of eclipses — total, partial and penumbral — is the total lunar eclipse, in which the Earth’s shadow completely covers the moon.

Total eclipse of the moon: The inner part of the Earth’s shadow, the umbra, falls on the moon’s face, completely obstructing it.

Partial lunar eclipse: The umbra takes only a bite out of the moon. The bite grows larger, and then recedes, but never completely shadows the moon.

Penumbral lunar eclipse: When this occurs, only the diffuse outer shadow of the Earth falls on the moon, and it’s difficult to observe because the Earth doesn’t appear to take a bite out of the moon. The moon takes on a darker shade at mid-eclipse, but most people won’t notice it.

Blood moon: While the moon is in the Earth’s shadow, it takes on a reddish tint. As NASA explained, “Some sunlight still reaches the moon [during a total lunar eclipse], but first it goes through Earth's atmosphere. The atmosphere filters out most of the sun’s blue light, so the moon looks red.”

By Patch editor Beth Dalbey

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Photo of supermoon lunar eclipse by Aubrey Gemignani/NASA via Getty Images