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A supermoon trifecta, series of three supermoons in a row, will start on Sunday, December 3, 2017 and end on January 31, 2018 with ‘super blue blood’ Moon.
Supermoons are Moons that are full when they take place unusually close to the time of a month when they also make the closest approach to Earth – the perigee. Nearby perigee full Moons appear about 14 % bigger and 30 % brighter than full Moons that occur near apogee in the Moon’s orbit.
The supermoon on January 1 will be the largest of the year, but the most special of the three is the one on January 31. This one is known as the ‘Blue Moon’ because it’s the second Full Moon in a calendar month. It features a total lunar eclipse, with totality viewable during moonset from western North America across the Pacific to Eastern Asia. This Full Moon will gradually get darker, and take on a rusty or blood red color during the eclipse.
On average, Blue Moons happen every two and a half years. With the total eclipse, the January 31, 2017 Full Moon will be a ‘super blue blood’ Moon.
Video courtesy Science at NASA
Featured image credit: Science at NASA