Supermoon Lunar Eclipse Over Longs Peak

by Jon Burch Photography

Title

Supermoon Lunar Eclipse Over Longs Peak

Artist

Jon Burch Photography

Medium

Photograph - Digital Capture/faa Watermark Will Not Be On Your Finished Photograph.

Description

On January 31st, 2018 the northern hemisphere of the United States was treated to not only a "Supermoon" but also a total lunar eclipse. "Supermoon" is a common term used to describe the second full moon in the same month. The first full moon of 2018 happened on January 2nd.

A more precise astronomical definition identifies a Blue Moon as the third of four full moons that occur between an equinox and a solstice. The original usage of the term a "Blue Moon" dates from massive eruptions of the volcano Krakatoa in the 1800's.

The island group of Krakatoa lies in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra. Krakatoa is infamous for its violent Plinian eruption in 1883, which enlarged its caldera. This eruption, the 2nd largest in Indonesia, rivaled a most violent eruption of Tambora in 1815. It was during these eruptions that huge amounts of volcanic ash thrown into the sky caused the appearance of the moon to look blue when viewed through the clouds. This type of activity doesn’t happen very often and hence the term "Blue Moon."

This particular full moon was accompanied by a total lunar eclipse as the earth's shadow covered the near side of the moon. As the eclipse progressed, the moon turned a reddish color as the higher energy and shorter blue wavelengths of light were scattered by the earth's atmosphere.

The third and final element causing this series of events to be unusual was the relative closeness of the moon to the earth. Perigee, which refers to the closest approach of the moon to the earth in its elliptical orbit, occurred on the same day as the eclipse causing the moon to appear about 11 percent larger than it would when it is further away.

Unfortunately, with two complete full moons during the month of January, February won’t have any full moons at all. It takes 29 ½ days to complete a synodic lunar month as the moon returns to the same phase again. Since February doesn’t have that many days, our next full moon won’t be seen until March when the double full moon events return. Get some!

Northern Colorado's Longs Peak Supermoon eclipse image copyright 2018 Jon Burch Photography

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January 31st, 2018

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