'Super blood moon' to give us a rare show

by Sail-World.com on 25 Sep 2015 For the first time in three decades, we are in for the double spectacle Monday of a swollen 'supermoon' bathed in the blood-red light of a total eclipse.

The celestial show, visible from the Americas, Europe, Africa, west Asia and the east Pacific, will be 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 moon will be at its closest orbital point to Earth, called perigee, while also in its brightest phase.

The resulting 'supermoon' will look 30 percent brighter and 14 percent larger than when at apogee, the farthest point - which is about 49,800 kilometres (31,000 miles) from perigee.

For the first time since 1982, the earth will be in a straight line between the moon and the sun, blotting out the direct sunlight that normally the moon shine whitish-yellow.

But during the eclipse some sunlight will still creep around earth's edges and be filtered through its atmosphere, producing the red light that delivers the 'blood moon'.

The last super blood moon occurred in 1982 and the next will not be until 2033.

Now its a matter of what cloud cover might block the moon for watchers in those parts of the world where it will be dark in Europe and the America's especially.

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