’Super blood moon’ enthralls sky watchers

 

Washington, 28 Sep 2015: Sky watchers were rendered a treat during a rare astronomical event on September 27 Sunday after a swollen ‘supermoon’ and lunar eclipse occurred together for the first time in decades which showed that the moon was bathed in blood-red light.

 

This rare celestial show was visible from the Americas, Europe, Africa, west Asia and the east Pacific. The phenomenon was the result of the Sun, Earth and a larger-than-life, extra-bright moon lining up for just over an hour from 0211 GMT.

 

The previous super blood moon, only the fifth recorded since 1900, was in 1982, stated NASA while the next will not be till 2033.

 

Huge crowds were drawn together in plazas and sidewalks, gazing up at the sky and attempting to click photos.

 

The ‘blood moon,’ as it is called was visible through much of what was a clear and seasonably pleasant early autumn evening in New York whereas in cities like Washington, clouds covered much of the spectacle.

 

At that moment, the moon was at the closest orbital point to Earth, known as perigee and was also in its brightest phase.

 

The resulting super moon was seen to be 30% brighter and 14% larger than when at apogee, the farthest point -- which is nearly 31,000 miles (49,900 kilometers) from perigee.

 

The Earth unusually took position in a straight line between the moon and the sun, blocking direct sunlight that normally made the Moon glow whitish-yellow.

 

But, somehow, light still crept around Earth’s edges and got filtered through the atmosphere which resulted in casting an eerie red light that created the blood moon.

 

However, the moon appeared to be clothed in copper rather than reddish tone.