Saturday 19 January 2019

Super Blood Wolf Moon And Perigee Syzyg

You don’t have to do much to prepare for the Lunar Eclipse just before dawn on Jan 21, just be awake at 5.15 am and look up at the full, red Moon although if you sleep through it bear in mind that the next one is not until January 2037.
This is not just a Super Blood Wolf Moon but also a Perigee Syzygy if you please but just what is all that?
The Super bit is because it's a Supermoon which is when the full moon coincides with a perigee which is the point at which the moon comes closet to the Earth during its orbit which makes it look 14% bigger.
The blood part is the reddish tint of the moon during a total lunar eclipse and a Wolf Moon is a full moon which occurs in the dead of winter when it’s coldest so when they all occur together we get a Super Blood Wolf Moon
A Syzygy refers to an alignment in a straight line, of three celestial bodies and on January 21 we have the Sun, Moon and Earth all in line (which is why we have a lunar eclipse) and as the moon is at it's Perigee (closest point to earth), it’s called a Perigee Syzygy.
Just set the alarm for 5am, make a coffee and stick your head out the door and gaze in wonder at a spectacular astronomical event, then go back to bed because 5.15am is ridiculously early.

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