Photos by Donna J Cannady
Last night in the eastern sky you could see a “super blood wolf” moon. The phenomenon took place and peeked at 11:16pm CST. If you, like me, had the opportunity to witness this event you would have been able to watch in awe as the full moon turn blood red. During this event the full moon turned a rusty red, which is where the name “blood moon” comes from. This particular lunar eclipse, also happened to coincide with the “wolf moon”, which is the traditional name for the January full moon. Furthermore, because the moon was unusually close to Earth and so will be slightly bigger and brighter, making it a so-called “supermoon.”
In a lunar eclipse, the Earth casts a shadow on the moon. Total lunar eclipses are rare since the moon’s orbit is tilted. The moon usually glides above or below Earth’s cone-shaped shadow. They happen only during a full moon, and only when the sun, Earth, and moon are precisely aligned so that the darkest part of the Earth’s shadow completely covered the lunar disk. This usually happens twice a year and each total eclipse can be seen from only one hemisphere of Earth. The last total eclipse of the moon occurred on July 27, 2018, and was visible across Africa and parts of Asia. This year’s total eclipse was the first to be seen in its entirety in North America in nearly three and half years. If you missed this one will have to wait until May 26, 2021, for your next chance at viewing a blood moon.
