Super Blue Blood Moon: Get set for a rare celestial phenomenon

Super Blue Blood Moon — the name itself implies a super special event, and that is exactly what you can witness on January 31. This rarest of rare celestial phenomenon is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that is going to occur after 150 years. And it is going to be a triple treat as the sky will have a supermoon, a blue moon and a total lunar eclipse, all at the same time. Unlike a solar eclipse, a lunar eclipse can be viewed with the naked eye.
So, if you have access to a high-rise building, then there is a good chance that you will get a good view of the super blue blood moon (quite a mouthful, isn’t it?) between 6.21 pm and 7.37 pm on January 31. And what will it look like? “From home, it will look like the full moon, but the colour will be slightly copper red. But for that, there is no other difference,” says HR Madhusudhan, senior scientific officer, Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium.
The planetarium is making arrangements for people to view the celestial phenomenon at their premises, where you can do so through some of their telescopes. Can’t make it to the planetarium? No worries. “Lunar eclipses are best seen through the naked eye. The rising moon, at 6.21 pm, will be slightly more reddish in colour than it usually is. Expect to see what you see on a full moon day; in fact, on the 31st, the moon will be less bright than it usually is since there will be the earth’s shadow on it,” adds Madhusudhan.
Here's where you can see it up close:
The Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium is making arrangements for people to view the celestial phenomenon at their premises, where you can do so through some of their telescopes
LUNAR TRIFECTA
Super Moon
A full or new Moon that is close to the Earth (3.56 lakh kilometre).The Moon appears 14% larger and 40% brighter
Blue Moon
The second full Moon in a month. January 2, 2018 was a full Moon
Blood moon
Blood Moon or total lunar eclipse occurs when the moon travels through the earth’s umbra, the dark central portion of its shadow. The earth blocks all direct sunlight from falling onto the Moon’s surface.
The Moon does not turn completely dark during a total lunar eclipse, and appears reddish, since part of the sunlight still reaches the lunar surface indirectly, via the earth’s atmosphere