A rare lunar phenomenon will be visible over Airdrie and the rest of Alberta early tomorrow morning (January 31).

Along with a total lunar eclipse, Airdrie will also see a blue moon and a supermoon for a "super blue blood moon". The last time the three events coincided globally was in 1982, but it's been even longer since North Americans have seen one. The last super blue blood moon visible in the continent occurred in 1866.

Roland Dechesne with the Calgary Centre of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada said the coincidence of the three events occurring at the same time is neat, but may not look all that impressive. The total lunar eclipse is the main event.

"It's rare but it's not that spectacular. It's not like the show of the moon which is full and is gonna drop into this dark shadow of the Earth, it's gonna pick up this orangey, reddish, burnt ember tones, and that's going to be the real show."

Dechesne says a supermoon (a term that hasn't been fully embraced by the astronomical community) signifies the moon at its nearest distance to Earth. The moon will appear 7 percent larger in the night sky, but it won't be obviously larger to the casual observer.

Meanwhile, a blue moon is the second full moon that occurs in a month. While a blue moon typically occurs approximately every 32 months, the timing of tonight's blue moon so close to February means there will be another blue moon in March. Dechesne said that in itself is rare. Having two blue moons in quick succession usually only happens four times a century. The last time that happened was in 1999, and it won't happen again until 2037.

The lunar eclipse will start around 4:48 am in Airdrie, with the moon starting to move into the darkest part of the Earth's shadow. Around 5:51 am the eclipse will reach full totality, followed by the maximum eclipse at around 6:30 am.

"It'll stay fully eclipsed until about eight minutes past 7:00 am," said Dechesne, "Here in Alberta we're gonna see the moon still probably partially eclipsed as it hits the mountains down in the west."

According to Dan Kulak, Meteorologist with Environment Canada, there is one thing that could spoil the show.

"The problem tomorrow actually is going to be cloud cover. I'm not going to say that a glimpse of this event is totally impossible. I think the odds are against us but if you're up in the morning and have some time, take a look out the window and you might be surprised to have a break in the clouds and be able to see the eclipse."

Dechesne said, unlike last summer's solar eclipse, the lunar eclipse is totally safe to look at. High powered telescopes won't help your viewing and may even detract from the experience. Dechesne said the ideal way to see the eclipse is a combination of the naked eye and binoculars. 

 

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