NASA forecasts spectacular ‘Super Blood Moon’ this week

Astronomers are polishing their telescopes ahead of what NASA scientists say will be the biggest and brightest full moon of the year, coinciding with a total lunar eclipse that will make the Moon appear red for about 15 minutes.

Assistant Director for Science Communications at the NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center Dr. Michelle Thaller told WDBO about the rare lunar trifecta, a “super blood moon.”

“The first one that anybody can see is the supermoon. That means the moon is a little bit closer to the earth than average. The moon’s orbit around the Earth is not a perfect circle, every month it gets a little bit closer and a little bit farther away. When the closest approach happens at full moon; we call that supermoon. The moon is about 16,000 miles closer than usual. This is the biggest full moon of the year,” Thaller said.

People west of the Mississippi river will be able to watch a total lunar eclipse, while stargazers on the other side will only see a partial eclipse.

“A lunar eclipse is absolutely spectacular. It’s when the Earth blocks out the sun and the moon falls into the earth’s shadow. The moon goes dark and at the height of the eclipse it turns red. There will be a partial eclipse for Central Florida right at dawn. For Orlando the moon will not look that different,” Thaller said.

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