Super Blood Wolf Moon
Sunday evening, Jan. 20, 2019 Kevin Dayhoff
I ventured out into the cold to attempt to get a few
pictures of this evening’s lunar eclipse, the so-called, “Super Blood Wolf Moon.”
And I mean cold. Here on the west end of Westminster, our thermometer was
reading 15 degrees; although it is the wind that really made it miserable to
stand out on the back patio and attempt to get a picture.
I froze my fingers off – and in the end I did not get a good
picture. I was disappointed to not get a good picture, but it was still
fascinating to observe. Apparently it does not happen again until 2022.
“This one is ‘super’ because it coincides with lunar
perigee, when the moon is at its closest point to Earth in its elliptical orbit
around the planet. Super moons can appear slightly larger and brighter than
other full moons, though it can be hard to tell with the naked eye.
“And January’s full moon has long been known as the Wolf
Moon, because of long howls the animals call out during their breeding season.
It has also been known as the Old Moon, the Ice Moon, or the Moon After Yule.”
Meanwhile in Alaska, where it’s warmer than here in Carroll
County, KTUU posted this picture of “Once in a blue moon, we have a Super Wolf
Blood moon.” Tracy Sinclare wrote, Sat., Jan. 19, 2019 - , “ANCHORAGE (KTUU) —
It’s a rarity — a total lunar eclipse that coincides with the moon being at its
closest point to Earth. On Jan. 20, 2019 North and South America will be able
to see the Super Wolf Blood moon. The ‘super’ part is a result of the moon at
perigee when the moon is at its nearest point to Earth during its orbit. It
will appear seven to 14 percent bigger than a ‘regular’ moon.
“Every full moon during the year has a name. According to
the Farmer’s Almanac, the January full moon is the ‘wolf’ moon. ‘Amid the cold
and deep snows of midwinter, the wolf packs howled hungrily,’ the Almanac reads.
“And it’s a ‘blood’ moon because of the total lunar eclipse
which makes the moon appear red or orange. During a total lunar eclipse, the
sun, Earth, and moon are aligned in space. Light gets refracted around the
earth, and Earth’s atmosphere strips out the blue light leaving red, orange,
and gold to reflect on the moon.
“‘How gold, orange, or red the Moon appears during a total
lunar eclipse depends on how much dust, water, and other particles are in
Earth's atmosphere, as well as factors such as temperature and humidity,’
according to NASA.”
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