Super Blood Wolf Moon

Last Sunday night there was a rare phenomenon in the nighttime sky-a Super Blood Wolf Moon.

A moon is known as a “super” moon when its orbit is in perigee, which brings it closer to the Earth, making it appear larger in the sky.

https://moon.nasa.gov/news/29/teachable-moment-whats-a-supermoon-and-just-how-super-is-it/

The “blood” name for a moon comes from the light play in the Earth’s atmosphere. The moon can appear in many colors, transitioning from a soft yellow color to a bright, dark red color.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/watch-rare-blood-moon-eclipse-tonight

The term “wolf moon” is the name for the full moon for the month of January. I wrote a piece about the wolf moon in 2017, as part of my “Moons of the Year” series:

http://letrasalaluna.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-wolf-moon.html?q=moons

Last year in January we experienced a Super Blue Blood Moon, which was the second full moon of the month:

http://letrasalaluna.blogspot.com/2018/01/super-blue-blood-moon.html

I was able to witness the moon in all of its super glory on Sunday night. I saw it with a white color, larger than life in the nighttime sky. I attempted to take a picture of it:

"Super Blood Wolf Moon" by Esperanza Habla

The light at the bottom of the picture is coming from a street light. That should give you an idea of how bright the moon was that evening.

In addition to the phenomenon of the Super Blood Wolf Moon, there was a lunar eclipse. As the moon traveled through the sky, it began to be eclipsed by the sun. As the moon began its eclipse, it had moved directly over my house. I tried to capture the eclipse with my camera; in this photo, you can just see a flat edge at the bottom of the moon: