Supermoon + Blue moon + Lunar eclipse on Jan. 31 2018 visible in S'pore

Rare occurrence last happened 152 years ago in 1866.

Joshua Lee | Belmont Lay | January 15, 2018, 03:56 PM

Prepare for complete lunacy come Jan. 31, 2018.

A supermoon, blue moon and lunar eclipse will happen all at once. This will result in a "super blue total lunar eclipse" -- visible in Singapore.

What is what?

Supermoon: A phenomenon when the full moon is also the closest to Earth. The last supermoon we had was on Dec. 3 2017.

Lunar eclipse: Occurs when a full moon enters the Earth's shadow. In other words, Earth is directly between the Sun and the moon. The moon is, hence, eclipsed from the Sun's light.

Blue moon: Won't be blue in colour, as it refers to the second full moon of the month -- a rare occurrence -- which happens once in every two years and eight months.

There is usually only one full moon in each calendar month.

A total eclipse moon is red or coppery. The moon appears with a copper-red glow because light from the Sun is filtered through the Earth's atmosphere and only red light (which has the longest wavelength) makes it through to the moon and bounces back to our eyes.

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Timing

The moon can be seen in Singapore on the evening of Jan. 31.

A partial eclipse will start at 7.48pm.

A full eclipse is expected at 8.51pm, ending at 10.08pm.

The partial eclipse will end at 11.11pm.

You won't need any special equipment to witness this special event, but having binoculars or a telescope would definitely help you appreciate the finer details.

This would be 2018's first lunar eclipse.

The last time something like this happened was in 1866 -- 152 years ago.

Via Science Centre.

If you're interested in lunar phenomenons, you might want to give this article a read:

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Top image via Science Centre Singapore

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