A total

lunar eclipse A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow. Such alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six months, during the full moon phase, when the Moon's orbital plane is closest to the plane of the Earth ...

occurred on 31 January 2018. The

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

was near its

perigee An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. For example, the apsides of the Earth are called the aphelion and perihelion. General description There are two apsides in any ellip ...

on 30 January and as such may be described as a "

supermoon A supermoon is a full moon or a new moon that nearly coincides with perigee—the closest that the Moon comes to the Earth in its elliptic orbit—resulting in a slightly larger-than-usual apparent size of the lunar disk as viewed from Earth. ...

", when the Moon's distance from the Earth is less than 360,000 km (223,694 miles). The previous supermoon lunar eclipse was in September 2015. During the total lunar eclipse of Wednesday, 31 January 2018, the Moon was 360,202 km (only 202 km to be a Super Full Moon) (223,819 mi) from the Earth. A blue moon occurs because there are 2 full moons in the same calendar month, or if there are 4 full moons in the same season (third of four is blue moon). As this supermoon was also a

blue moon A blue moon is an additional full moon that appears in a subdivision of a year: the third of four full moons in a season. The phrase in modern usage has nothing to do with the actual color of the Moon, although a visually blue Moon (the Moon a ...

(the second

full moon The full moon is the lunar phase when the Moon appears fully illuminated from Earth's perspective. This occurs when Earth is located between the Sun and the Moon (when the ecliptic coordinate system, ecliptic longitudes of the Sun and Moon opp ...

in a calendar month), it was referred to as a "super blue blood moon"; "blood" refers to the typical red color of the Moon during a total lunar eclipse. The 31 January, 2018 lunar event was called 'Trifecta'. This coincidence last occurred on 30 December 1982 for the

eastern hemisphere The Eastern Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth which is east of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and west of the antimeridian (which crosses the Pacific Ocean and relatively little land from pole to pol ...

, and otherwise before that on 31 March 1866. The next occurrence will be on 31 January 2037, one

metonic cycle The Metonic cycle or enneadecaeteris (from grc, ἐννεακαιδεκαετηρίς, from ἐννεακαίδεκα, "nineteen") is a period of almost exactly 19 years after which the lunar phases recur at the same time of the year. The recu ...

(19 years) later.

Background

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes within Earth's

umbra The umbra, penumbra and antumbra are three distinct parts of a shadow, created by any light source after impinging on an opaque object. Assuming no diffraction, for a collimated beam (such as a point source) of light, only the umbra is cast. Th ...

(shadow). As the eclipse begins, Earth's shadow first darkens the Moon slightly. Then, the shadow begins to "cover" part of the Moon, turning it a dark red-brown color (typically – the color can vary based on atmospheric conditions). The Moon appears to be reddish because of

Rayleigh scattering Rayleigh scattering ( ), named after the 19th-century British physicist Lord Rayleigh (John William Strutt), is the predominantly elastic scattering of light or other electromagnetic radiation by particles much smaller than the wavelength of the ...

(the same effect that causes sunsets to appear reddish) and the refraction of that light by Earth's atmosphere into its umbra. The following simulation shows the approximate appearance of the Moon passing through Earth's shadow. The northern portion of the Moon is closest to the center of the shadow, making it darkest and reddest in appearance. Animation_January_18_2018_lunar_eclipse_appearance

Animation_January_18_2018_lunar_eclipse_appearance

"Super blue blood moon"

This was a "

", as the Moon was near to its closest distance to earth in its elliptical orbit, making it 7% larger in

apparent diameter The angular diameter, angular size, apparent diameter, or apparent size is an angular distance describing how large a sphere or circle appears from a given point of view. In the vision sciences, it is called the visual angle, and in optics, it is ...

or 14% larger in area, than an average full moon. The previous supermoon lunar eclipse was the

September 2015 lunar eclipse A total lunar eclipse took place between 27 and 28 September 2015. It was seen on Sunday evening, 27 September, in the Americas; while in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, it was seen in the early hours of Monday morning, 28 September. It was ...

.Super Blue Moon eclipse on January 31
Earthsky.org, January 30 2018 The full moon of 31 January 2018 was the second full moon that calendar month (in most time zones), making it, under one definition of the term, a "

". Additionally referencing the orange or red "blood" colors that occur during a lunar eclipse, media sources described the event as a "super blue blood Moon".

Characteristics

Visibility

The

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

was turned toward the Moon at the time of the eclipse.

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

and

eastern Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both Geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The modern State (polity), states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. ...

(including most of

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and most of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

got a good view of this moon show in the evening sky. For

Western Asia Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes Ana ...

, the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

, the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

and

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...

, the eclipse was underway as the moon rose. Along the U.S.

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

, the total phase began at 4:51 a.m. PST. The further east, the closer the start of the partial phases coincided with moonset. Along the U.S.

Atlantic Seaboard The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Eastern United States meets the North Atlantic Ocean. The eastern seaboard contains the coa ...

, for instance, the Moon had only just begun to enter the darkest part of Earth's shadow, the umbra, at 6:48 a.m. EST when it disappeared from view below the west-northwest horizon. The duration of the total phase was 77 minutes, with the Moon tracking through the southern part of the Earth's shadow. During totality, the Moon's lower limb appeared brighter than the dark upper limb.

Timing

File:Lunar eclipse of 2018 January 31 (Montage s4).jpg, Example in

Aichi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,552,873 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the west, Gifu Prefectur ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Gallery

North America

File:MG 3167.CR2 (25133363417).jpg,

Fayetteville, North Carolina Fayetteville () is a city in and the county seat of Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a major U.S. Army installation northwest of the city. Fayetteville has received the All-America C ...

, 11:36 UTC File:180131-N-GO855-020 (40081843921).jpg, Partial from

Naval Base Point Loma Naval Base Point Loma (NBPL) is located in Point Loma, a neighborhood of San Diego, California. It was established on 1 October 1998 when Navy facilities in the Point Loma area of San Diego were consolidated under Commander, Navy Region Southwest ...

, California File:Super Blue Blood Moon 2018 (26137638178).jpg,

Melbourne, Florida Melbourne is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. It is located southeast of Orlando. As of th2020 Decennial Census there was a population of 84,678. The municipality is the second-largest in the county by both size and population. ...

, 12:00 UTC File:January 31, 2018 lunar eclipse - Jacksonville FL.jpg,

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

, 12:10 UTC File:Partial Lunar Eclipse on 1-31-18 (26137564738).jpg,

Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia. Situated near the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is located southeast of Atlanta and lies near the geographic center of the state of Geo ...

, 12:11 UTC File:MX TV ECLIPSE DE LUNA, TULA (25198113237).jpg,

Tula, Tamaulipas Tula is a town located in Tula Municipality in the state of Tamaulipas. History The city was founded on 22 July 1617 by the Franciscan friar Juan Baptist of Mollinedo thus usually is considered the oldest city in the state of Tamaulipas. In 2011 ...

, 12:29 UTC File:Lunar eclipse of 2018 January 31 in Houston (6).jpg,

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, 12:41 UTC File:20180131 125101000 iOS (39432379265).jpg,

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

, 12:51 UTC File:Lunar Eclipse 2018 1 31 (39105305775).jpg, Totality from

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

, 12:58 UTC File:Lunar eclipse of 2018 January 31 in Denver.JPG,

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, 12:59 UTC File:In-camera double exposure Super Blue Blood Moon at Roosevelt Arch (40004267771).jpg,

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...

, 13:03 UTC File:Bloodmoon (25136519267).jpg, Placitas, New Mexico, 13:35 UTC File:Super Blue Blood Moon (28224587179).jpg,

Redwood City, California Redwood City is a city on the San Francisco Peninsula in Northern California's Bay Area, approximately south of San Francisco, and northwest of San Jose. Redwood City's history spans its earliest inhabitation by the Ohlone people to being a ...

, 13:43 UTC File:Exsanguination (39982933632).jpg,

Novato, California Novato (Spanish for "Novatus") is a city in Marin County, California, in the North Bay region of the Bay Area. At the 2020 census, Novato had a population of 53,225. History What is now Novato was originally the site of several Coast Miwok ...

, 14:13 UTC File:Trifecta-Exit-Dawn-01-31-18.jpg,

Landers, California Landers is an unincorporated community in the High Desert region of the Mojave Desert, in San Bernardino County, Southern California. Landers' population, as of 2017, is 2,982 people. Its residents are sometimes referred to as "Landroids"—an ...

dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's horizo ...

File:Trifecta Morning Mountain Moonset 01-31-2018.jpg,

Joshua Tree, California Joshua Tree is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Bernardino County, California, San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 7,414 at the 2010 census. At approximately above sea level, Joshua Tree and its surrounding c ...

Asia and Middle East

File:Amazing Super Blue Blood Moon 2018.jpg, Partial from

Ilagan, Isabela Ilagan, officially the City of Ilagan ( ibg, Siudad nat Ilagan; ilo, Siudad ti Ilagan; fil, Lungsod ng Ilagan), is a 1st class component city and capital of the province of Isabela, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a popula ...

File:Lunar eclipse (26131047528).jpg,

Hiroshima, Japan is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Hiroshima Prefecture has a population of 2,811,410 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 8,479 km² (3,274 sq mi). Hiroshima Prefecture borders Okayama ...

, 11:43 UTC File:2018年1月31日の皆既月食 1.jpg, Shinjyuku, Tokyo, 12:52 UTC File:Lunar eclipse in Chiang Mai January 31 2018 B2P1260650.jpg,

Chiang Mai, Thailand Chiang Mai (, from th, เชียงใหม่ , nod, , เจียงใหม่ ), sometimes written as Chiengmai or Chiangmai, is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the second largest city in ...

, 12:57 UTC File:Super blue blood moon (40004200211).jpg, Chōfu, Tokyo, 13:22 UTC File:Lunar eclipse 31 January 2018 21 50 57 Guangzhou China.jpg,

Guangzhou, China Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kong ...

, 13:50 UTC File:January 2018 Lunar Eclipse.jpg,

Kerala, India Kerala ( ; ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

, 14:03 UTC File:2018 01 31`5731-5750`v05`4500px (40190126321).jpg,

Novosibirsk, Russia Novosibirsk (, also ; rus, Новосиби́рск, p=nəvəsʲɪˈbʲirsk, a=ru-Новосибирск.ogg) is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the 2021 Census, ...

, 14:06 UTC File:Lunar eclipse in George Town, Penang on 31 January 2018.jpg, George Town, Malaysia, 14:16 UTC File:DSC 0179 Super Blue Blood Moon (39106943665).jpg,

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

, 14:32 UTC File:Eclipse and Super blue blood moon 31.01.2018 DSCN9664.jpg, From

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

at moonrise, 15:03 UTC File:Partial Lunar Eclipse of January 31st, 2018.jpg,

Nanjing, China Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

, 15:10 UTC File:Кровавая Луна.jpg, From

Russian Far East The Russian Far East (russian: Дальний Восток России, r=Dal'niy Vostok Rossii, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in Northeast Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent; and is admini ...

Oceania

File:Lunar Eclipse (39971126492).jpg, Lake Wendouree, Victoria, 12:40 UTC File:2018.01.31.23.49.24-Lunar eclipse (39865858205).jpg,

Sydney, Australia Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and List of cities in Oceania by population, Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metro ...

, 12:49 UTC File:20180201 Chelsea, total lunar eclipse 4.jpg,

Chelsea, Victoria Chelsea is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 30 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Kingston local government area. Chelsea recorded a population of 8,347 at the . Chelsea is located ...

, 13:44 UTC

Related eclipses

Eclipses of 2018

* A total lunar eclipse on 31 January. * A partial solar eclipse on 15 February. * A partial solar eclipse on 13 July. * A total lunar eclipse on 27 July. * A partial solar eclipse on 11 August. The January 2018 lunar eclipse is the first

ascending node An orbital node is either of the two points where an orbit intersects a plane of reference to which it is inclined. A non-inclined orbit, which is contained in the reference plane, has no nodes. Planes of reference Common planes of reference ...

eclipse of the lunar eclipse series sets from 2016 to 2020. It is also part of

Saros cycle The saros () is a period of exactly 223 synodic months, approximately 6585.3211 days, or 18 years, 10, 11, or 12 days (depending on the number of leap years), and 8 hours, that can be used to predict eclipses of the Sun and Moon. One saros period ...

124. A similar eclipse occurs on 31 January 2037, one

of 19 years in the future.

Half-Saros cycle

A lunar eclipse will be preceded and followed by solar eclipses by 9 years and 5.5 days (a half saros).Mathematical Astronomy Morsels, Jean Meeus, p.110, Chapter 18, ''The half-saros'' This lunar eclipse is related to two annular solar eclipses of

Solar Saros 131 Saros cycle The saros () is a period of exactly 223 synodic months, approximately 6585.3211 days, or 18 years, 10, 11, or 12 days (depending on the number of leap years), and 8 hours, that can be used to predict eclipses of the Sun and Moon. O ...

References

External links

*
Hermit eclipse: 2018-01-31

LunarEclipse2018.org
{{Lunar eclipses 2018-01 2018 in science January 2018 events in Asia January 2018 events in Oceania January 2018 events in the United States