A rare Super Blue Blood Moon will grace Saigon’s skies tomorrow night.
Anyone that looks up on Wednesday night, January 31st, 2018, will notice that the moon appears bigger, brighter and is a menacing shade of red. The phenomenon is the result of three relatively frequent lunar events - a blue moon, a supermoon and a total lunar eclipse - all taking place on the same night. A Super Blue Blood Moon hasn’t occurred since 1866.
A blue moon is when a full moon occurs twice in the same calendar month. A supermoon is when the full moon occurs while the moon’s orbit is closest to earth. A total lunar eclipse is when the moon passes through the Earth’s shadow. For a few hours on Wednesday, Saigon citizens will get to enjoy all three simultaneously.
Where to best observe the rare phenomenon. Image via Business Insider.
By 5:51pm (Vietnam time), the Earth’s shadow will start to fall across the moon’s face and observers should make high ground to get as good a view as possible. By 6:48pm, the partial eclipse will begin and the moon will start to take on an eerie copper-glow. At 7:51pm, the total eclipse will be underway, and the moon will achieve its most striking color. By 9:07pm, the total eclipse will end and the red will slowly fade until 11:08pm when the entire occasion ends.
[Top photo via Imgur user SeanKorbitz]
