‘Super Moon Eclipse’ will commence on January the 31st

MoonMoon

On Wednesday the 31st of January, the earth between the sun and the moon will prevent sunlight reaching the surface of the moon. Thus, we’ll see the first Super Moon Eclipse in 2018.

 

The term ‘super moon’ is used in cases where the moon shows a full phase while it is closest to the earth. When the super moon and a total moon eclipse occur simultaneously,the phenomenon is called a ‘super-moon eclipse’.

The last time a super-moon eclipse took place in Norway was September the 28th, 2015. Since 1900, six super-moon eclipses have occurred. The phenomenon occurs very rarely.

‘In the case of moon eclipses, you can actually see the earth’s curvature in the shadow thrown on the moon. It’s useful if anyone is still wondering whether the Earth is round,’ said space researcher, Pål Brekke, to NRK news.

In principle, the moon really must be completely dark when the earth shines completely on the moon.

What happens at a total moon eclipses is that the sunlight that hits the outer edges of the earth is reflected by larger particles in the atmosphere, that reflect the light on the ‘backside’ of the earth. It is the red light from the sun that is thrown back to earth so that we experience the moon as red.

‘A bit of the same happens when the sun goes down to the horizon.

In that case, the sky turns red’, said Brekke.

 

© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today