When the Moon passes within Earth's umbra
(shadow) a lunar eclipse occurs. In the beginning of the eclipse, Earth's
shadow first darkens the Moon slightly. Later, the shadow begins to cover part
of the Moon, turning it to a dark red-brown color. Depending on atmospheric
conditions the color varies. The Moon appears to be reddish because of Rayleigh
scattering and the refraction of that light by Earth's atmosphere into its
umbra.
The full moon of January 31, 2018 was the
second full moon of that calendar month, so it is popularly called, a blue
moon. Additionally, the Moon was near to its closest distance to earth in its
elliptical orbit, making it 7% larger in apparent diameter or 14% larger in
area, than an average full moon. So it was Super moon also.
Considering the orange or red blood colors
that occur during a lunar eclipse, the lunar eclipse of January 31, 2018 is
popularly known as a "super blue blood Moon".
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