Lunar eclipse, blood supermoon all happening at once - What does it mean?

The first lunar eclipse of 2021 will occur on 26 May. But, this will be a special phenomenon as it will be a supermoon, a lunar eclipse and a red blood moon all at once. So what does this all mean?

What is a Supermoon?

A supermoon is a new or full moon closely coinciding with perigee, the moon's closest point to Earth in its monthly orbit. Any full moon or new moon that comes to within 224,791 miles or 361,766 km (or less) of our planet, as measured from the centers of the moon and Earth, can be called a supermoon.

So why is it super? The relatively close proximity of the Moon makes it seem a little bit bigger and brighter than usual, though the difference between a supermoon and a normal moon is usually hard to notice unless you’re looking at two pictures side by side.

What does lunar eclipse mean?

A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon is completely or partially hidden in the Earth's shadow. This phenomenon occurs during the full moon.

Like the Earth, half of the Moon is illuminated by the sun at any one time. A full moon happens when the Moon and the Sun are on opposite sides of the Earth. This allows you see the entire lit-up side, which looks like a round disc in the night sky.

But twice in each lunar orbit, the Moon is on the same horizontal plane as both the Earth and Sun. If this corresponds to a full moon, the Sun, the Earth and the Moon will form a straight line and the Moon will pass through the Earth’s shadow. This results in a total lunar eclipse.

Best places to see lunar Eclipse

To see a lunar eclipse, you need to be on the night side of the Earth while the Moon passes through the shadow. Thus, on 26 May 2021, the most suitable places to see the eclipse will be the middle of the Pacific Ocean, Australia, the eastern coast of Asia and the west coast of America. The eclipse will also be seen from the eastern part of America, but only in the initial phase.

Why does the moon look red?

When the moon is completely covered in the shadow of the earth, it becomes dark but not completely black. Instead, it looks red, so a full lunar eclipse is also called red or blood moon. 

Sunlight has all colors. While passing through the atmosphere of the Earth, the blue light is filtered while the red part passes through it. Therefore, the sky looks blue and redness prevails at sunrise and sunset. In case of lunar eclipse, the red light passes through the earth's atmosphere and it turns towards the moon while the blue light remains out of it. This makes the moon look completely red.