(Representative Image)

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It’s a rare celestial event for astro-enthusiasts to witness the supermoon , blue moon and lunar eclipse on Jan 31 after a gap of 150 years.

All arrangements with telescopes and awareness sessions will be made at Priyadarshini Planetarium housed in the Kerala Science and Technology Museum (KSSTM) campus here in the city to witness the event. In addition, various organisations including Breakthrough Science Society are organising awareness sessions in various parts of the state.

“It is a rare three-in one moon with supermoon, blue moon and lunar eclipse on this Jan 31 after a gap of 150 years. Before this, earlier such event occurred on March 31, 1866. Though observers can have a glimpse of the rare celestial phenomenon with the naked eye in the evening on Jan 31, we are also making arrangements for the interested to observe the event through telescopes. It can be viewed only partially through telescope, yet it will be ready. Before that an awareness class will be held with astrophysicist from 4 pm onwards, then after a tea break, the sky observation will begin and the visitors can enjoy the moon after sunset,” KSSTM director Arul Jerald Prakash told TOI.

Explaining the celestial event, he said when moon is in an elliptical orbit around the earth, the moon passes through the shadow of the earth and on Jan 31, moon will pass through the partial shadow or penumbral phase at 4.21 pm and then to more shadow or partial umbral phase at 5.18 pm and to total darkness or umbral phase at 6.21 pm when it will be called total lunar eclipse when moon goes beneath the horizon. The total lunar eclipse would end at 7.37 pm and then it will be a partial lunar eclipse at 8.41 pm as the moon will emerge out of the darkness and will be visible.

When the moon’s orbit around the earth comes to the closest by 90 percent to the perigee point of 3.56 lakh km from the earth, it is called Supermoon. The Sun, moon and earth is in a single line or aligned, it coincides with a full moon. The full moon is the lunar phase when the Moon appears fully illuminated when observed from the Earth. This occurs when Earth is located directly between the Sun and the Moon, he explains.

When two full moons happen in the same calendar month, it is termed a `Blue Moon’. After the blue moon on Jan 31, the next will be on March 31 this year. Following that, blue moons would occur on October 31, 2020, August 31, 2023, May 31, 2026, December 31, 2028, September 30, 2031, July 31, 2034 and on Jan 31, 2037.

This full moon or Supermoon on Jan 31 is likely to appear orange or red in colour based on the atmospheric conditions prevailing on earth when light is scattered on the moon and is also called Blood Moon, the astro-scientists explained.

On Jan 26, awareness classes on the celestial event of this three-in one moon will be organised by Breakthrough Science Society (BSS) at Shiksha Sadan in Ernakulum, BSS convenor Francis Kalathunkal said.

