The super blood wolf moon eclipse that was spotted all across the northern hemisphere between the early hours of 21 January, was visible from North and South America as well as western and northern Europe. Unfortunately, the southern hemisphere was unable to witness the spectacle.
Viewers of the eclipse waited patiently in the freezing cold of winter to catch a glimpse and snap photographs of the celestial phenomenon.
Here’s my view of the #LunarEclipse from just a few minutes ago in #Seattle #SuperBloodWolfMoon https://t.co/1OUjzhWQ4A pic.twitter.com/dvSt4MWUxq
— Bettina Hansen (@bettinahansen) January 21, 2019
The moon has no natural lighting of its own and its surface reflects the sun’s rays. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth moves between the moon and sun, blocking the sun’s rays from the moon and projecting its dark shadow onto the moon.
#SuperBloodWolfMoon
These came out decent! pic.twitter.com/ey3Unymreb
— Sibek (@Sibek_gryph) January 21, 2019
The name ‘super blood wolf moon’ sounds like quite the mouthful, so let’s break it down:
According to Native American history, the term ‘wolf moon’ comes from the fact that the phenomenon always appears in January, a time when wolves are heard howling more often.
It is also called a blood moon because it appears a copper/ red colour when in the Earth’s shadow.
Meanwhile, the moon is referred to a ‘super moon’ when it appears noticeably bigger and brighter, due to it being at its closest point to earth. The point is called perigee.
The super blood wolf moon does not occur often and will next be happening in 2021.
Thanks Karl for this great pic of the Moon from Florida! #SuperBloodWolfMoon pic.twitter.com/i6z2V40x8N
— Buzz Aldrin (@TheRealBuzz) January 21, 2019
#TotalLunarEclipse #SuperBloodWolfMoon various exposures with a 300mm #Canon f2.8 lens #Toronto #clearskies #moon pic.twitter.com/SmtIC686I3
— Jack Boland (@TorSunphoto21) January 21, 2019
Image source: Pixabay
