Last night was a Supermoon which coincided with a lunar eclipse, giving the moon a reddish appearance. This rare phenomenon is called Blood Moon due to the colour the moon appears in.
A Supermoon occurs when the Moon is closest to the Earth. or at its perigee, as it turns into a full Moon. A rising Super Full Moon can look larger and brighter to spectators on Earth. The colouration occurs due to the total lunar eclipse which gives the moon a reddish color. This happens because of Rayleigh scattering – the effect responsible for the beautiful colour of sunrises and sunsets.
All in all, these two phenomena happening at the same time is extremely rare. According to NASA, they have only occurred 5 times in the 1900s – in 1910, 1928, 1946, 1964 and 1982. After the September 27/ 28, 2015 Total Lunar Eclipse, a Supermoon eclipse will not happen again for another 18 years, until October 8, 2033.
While it is said that residents of the US were most likely to see it clearly, people in Nigeria spotted the moon as well. Check below.
A Supermoon occurs when the Moon is closest to the Earth. or at its perigee, as it turns into a full Moon. A rising Super Full Moon can look larger and brighter to spectators on Earth. The colouration occurs due to the total lunar eclipse which gives the moon a reddish color. This happens because of Rayleigh scattering – the effect responsible for the beautiful colour of sunrises and sunsets.
All in all, these two phenomena happening at the same time is extremely rare. According to NASA, they have only occurred 5 times in the 1900s – in 1910, 1928, 1946, 1964 and 1982. After the September 27/ 28, 2015 Total Lunar Eclipse, a Supermoon eclipse will not happen again for another 18 years, until October 8, 2033.
While it is said that residents of the US were most likely to see it clearly, people in Nigeria spotted the moon as well. Check below.
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