ST. CROIX — A astronomical wonder will occur tonight at around 9:07 p.m., producing a moon that will appear slightly bigger and emitting a reddish hue — an occurrence known as the super blood moon, according to the Astronomers Association.
A super blood moon last occurred in 1982, and won’t appear again until 2033. According to The New York Times, the so-called supermoon, which occurs when the moon is closest to earth in its orbit, will coincide with a lunar eclipse, leaving the moon in Earth’s shadow. Individually, the occurrence isn’t uncommon, but such an alignment does not happen very often.
“You’re basically seeing all of the sunrises and sunsets across the world, all at once, being reflected off the surface off the moon,” said Dr. Sarah Noble, a program scientist at NASA.
The moon may appear around 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter, but the difference will be subtle to the human eye. The reddish hue from the lunar eclipse will be highly visible through North  America and most apparent on the East Coast.
And while the first appearance will happen at around 9:07 p.m., at 10:11 p.m. the entire moon should be in the Earth’s shadow, at which point it will adopt the reddish color. The moon will remain in Earth’s shadow until 11:23 p.m., and the eclipse will end at 12:27 a.m.
Tags: bloodmoon
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