Get Ready for the ‘Super Blood Wolf Moon Eclipse’ this Month
I'm not sure there could be a more epic name than this for a lunar event. Here's what you need to know.
First and foremost, this will be a total lunar eclipse event happening on January 20 and going through the early morning hours of January 21. A total eclipse happens when the moon is totally blocked by the Earth's shadow.
Despite the intense name, the "Super Blood Wolf Moon" is really just your standard eclipse but there are some other differentiating characteristics. The "super" part means the moon will be at the closest point to the Earth, so it'll look even bigger and brighter than normal. This will be the first of three Super moons in 2019.
As you can guess, the "Blood Moon" distinction refers to the fact that even during the lunar eclipse, the moon won't go completely dark. It'll remain a reddish-copper color.
According to the Old Farmer's Almanac, the "Wolf Moon" occurs in January or February. The name comes from Native American lunar tracking when they could hear hungry wolves outside of their villages during the winter months.
The eclipse will start on January 20 around 10:45 p.m. and complete a couple hours later at 12:45 a.m.