Rare Super Blood Moon Total Lunar Eclipse Over SF
>> Want to see our Top Picks for this week instead?
San Francisco Bay Area |
Event Details
Submitted by the Event Organizer
“Supermoon” Night Over San Francisco 2024
Thanks to an optical illusion in the sky, the moon will appear bigger and brighter than normal in the San Francisco Bay Area in the night, during what astronomers call a “supermoon.”
Because the sun is about 50,000 miles closer to the earth than at its furthest point – and it’s a full or new moon – the moon will appear larger and brighter than most full moons. To be considered a supermoon, it has to be within 224,851 miles (361,863 kilometers) of our planet, as measured from the centers of the moon and Earth.
The best time to observe the supermoon is when the moon is near the horizon during either moonrise or moonset, thanks to having objects in the foreground (like buildings or trees) to provide reference points for estimating the moon’s size.
2024 Supermoons & Rare Full Moons
- August 19 – “Blue” Supermoon
- September 17 – Super Harvest Moon plus a partial lunar eclipse
- October 17 – Super Hunter’s Moon and the closest full supermoon for 2024
- November 15 – Full Moon, Supermoon
Read more about 2024’s Supermoons at Earthsky
Source: EarthSky
It’s the year’s first supermoon, meaning the moon is nearly at its closest to Earth for this month, plus there will be lunar eclipse as well.
This will be the last total lunar eclipse to grace Earth’s sky until May 26, 2021.
A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes completely through the Earth’s dark shadow, or umbra. During this type of eclipse, the Moon will gradually get darker and then take on a rusty or blood red color.
The January 20-21, total eclipse of the moon lasts for somewhat more than one hour, and is preceded and followed by a partial umbral eclipse, each time persisting for over an hour.
The whole umbral eclipse from start to finish has a duration of a little more than 3 1/3 hours, and can be viewed from North and South America, Greenland, Iceland, Europe, northern and western Africa plus the Arctic region of the globe.
- Partial umbral eclipse begins: 7:34 pm (January 20, 2019)
- Total lunar eclipse begins: 8:41 pm (January 20, 2019)
- Greatest eclipse: 9:12 pm (January 20, 2019)
- Total lunar eclipse ends: 9:43 pm (January 20, 2019)
- Partial umbral eclipse ends: 10:51 pm (January 20, 2019)
Disclaimer: Please double check event information with the event organizer as events can be canceled, details can change after they are added to our calendar, and errors do occur.
Cost: FREE
Categories: *Top Pick*, Celestial Events, East Bay, Geek Event, Kids & Families, North Bay, Peninsula, San Francisco, South Bay
