Seattleites will likely miss rare super blue blood moon
Jan 30, 2018, 10:05 AM | Updated: 11:09 am
(NASA)
(NASA)
It hasn’t happened in 150 years, but most of us in Western Washington won’t get to see the rare super blue blood moon Wednesday morning.
Why? The clouds, of course.
But it’s worth setting your alarm for 4:51 a.m. just in case the clouds part and you catch a glimpse of this celestial blow out.
This moon is the third in a series of “supermoons” when the moon is closer to Earth and appears 14 percent brighter than usual, according to NASA. Additionally, it’s the second full moon of the month — known as a blue moon. And finally, the super blue moon will pass through the Earth’s shadow and take on a reddish tint, known as a “blood moon.”
If you mix a blue moon with a blood moon, does it create a purple moon? I digress.
If you miss the eclipse, NASA says you’ll have to wait until Jan. 21, 2019 for the next opportunity. That eclipse will be visible across North America and will be a supermoon.
“Most of what we can see without a telescope are points of light, but the Moon is close enough that we can see it and the features on it, and notice what changes and what stays the same each night,” said Gordon Johnston, program executive and lunar blogger at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
