J A N U A R Y
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Topical Science Supermoons, Blue Moon and a Lunar Eclipse In This issue What is a supermoon?
MoonMoon
What is a blue moon? How does a lunar eclipse occur? Why are there high tides with the full moon?
Supermoon Rising January 1st (Photo by Carol Jean Stalun via Flickr.)
This month of January 2018 is marked by some interesting lunar events. First of all, we had a so-called ‘Supermoon’ on January 1st. This occurs whenever the full moon happens to coincide with perigee, the point in the moon’s orbit when it comes closest to Earth. There will be another Supermoon on January 31st and this will also be a ‘blue moon’. When there are two full moons within the same calendar month, the event is known as a ‘Blue Moon’. not only that, but in some places, it will be possible to observe a total lunar eclipse on January 31st.