Seeing red? That would be the very rare Supermoon headed our way
In the early hours of tomorrow morning a very rare total lunar eclipse is expected to take place.
The last eclipse of this kind occurred in 2010 when the Supermoon combination was first seen since 1982. The effects of this kind of eclipse mean that the moon will turn a blood red colour while appearing brighter and much larger than usual.
Speaking to TheJournal.ie, one astronomer explained that the moon will be lit up by all of the earth’s sunrises and sunsets.
“If you don’t like the prospect of getting up in the middle of the night to see this amazing spectacle of the Full Moon dropping in brightness by nearly a million times, our calculations show that you will have to wait until 20 December 2029 to see the next Total Eclipse of the Moon from Ireland in an evening sky.”
The eclipse is expected to take place from approximately 3am until 4:30am, if the prospect of an all-night appeals to you.
Astronomy Ireland will be setting up an Eclipse Watch for any avid star gazers who fancy joining in:
“Astronomy Ireland is setting up the most powerful telescopes in Ireland, to show members of the general public the Moon in addition to lots of other night sky objects,” according to their website.
They add this this “the most amazing object you will ever see!” So we better get out our binoculars then.
According to one retired NASA expert, the red moon should be visible for about an hour and 12 minutes.
