New Delhi: The first lunar eclipse of 2021 will occur on May 26. This year, the importance of eclipse is different as three lunar events will be taking place all at once, namely ‘Supermoon’, ‘Red Blood Moon’ and a Lunar Eclipse.
May 26, the first total lunar eclipse will be visible from Australia, the Pacific Ocean, the Eastern Ocean and North and South America. Whereas for Indians, the moon will be below the eastern horizon, due to which people won’t be able to view the Blood Moon.
The total lunar eclipse that happens in the month of May is also called Flower Moon, as it occurs during the spring season in the Northern Hemisphere.
What’s a super moon?
A supermoon occurs when a full or new moon coincides with the Moon’s closest approach to the Earth. The Moon’s orbit around Earth is not perfectly circular. This means the Moon’s distance from Earth varies as it goes around the planet. The closest point in the orbit, called the perigee, is roughly 28,000 miles closer to Earth than the farthest point of the orbit. A full moon that happens near the perigee is called a supermoon.
So why is it super?
The relatively close proximity of the Moon makes it seem a little bit bigger and brighter than usual, though the difference between a supermoon and a normal moon is usually hard to notice unless you’re looking at two pictures side by side.
Why does the moon look red?
When the Moon is completely covered by Earth’s shadow it will darken, but doesn’t go completely black. Instead, it takes on a red color, which is why total lunar eclipses are sometimes called red or blood moons. Sunlight contains all colors of visible light. The particles of gas that make up Earth’s atmosphere are more likely to scatter blue wavelengths of light while redder wavelengths pass through. This is called Rayeigh scattering, and it’s why the sky is blue and sunrises and sunsets are often red.
In the case of a lunar eclipse, red light can pass through the Earth’s atmosphere and is refracted or bent toward the Moon, while blue light is filtered out. This leaves the moon with a pale reddish hue during an eclipse.
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