Super Blue Moon Wednesday, Jan. 31, Is First of Two 2018 Blue Moons

Summary: The super blue moon Wednesday, Jan. 31, is the first of two 2018 blue moons, with blue designating the second of two full moons within one calendar month.

night side of moon at instant of reaching super blue fullness, Wednesday, Jan. 31, at 13:27 UTC: John Walker, via Fourmilab

The super blue moon Wednesday, Jan. 31, is the first of two 2018 blue moons, with the blue designation applying to the second of two full moons that occur within the same calendar month.

January 2018’s first blue moon turns full Wednesday, Jan. 31, at 13:27 Coordinated Universal Time (8:27 a.m. Eastern Standard Time; 6:27 a.m. Pacific Standard Time). Almost two months later (58 days 23 hours 10 minutes), the year’s second blue moon reaches fullness Saturday, March 31, at 12:37 UTC (8:37 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time; 5:37 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time).

The year’s first blue moon claims triple honors. In addition to blue moon status, January 2018’s second full moon is a supermoon and also hosts a total lunar eclipse as 2018’s first of five eclipses.

Astrologer Richard Nolle is credited with coining the term of supermoon. Bruce McClure, EarthSky Tonight’s lead writer, explains Nolle’s definition as designating a new moon or full moon that logs a center-to-center distance of about 361,000 kilometers (224,000 miles) from Earth.

McClure places the Wednesday, Jan. 31, super blue moon at a center-to-center distance of 360,199 kilometers (223,817.28 miles). The blue moon’s distance is 1,204 kilometers farther away from Earth than January’s closest distance, known as perigee. The month’s perigee of 358,995 kilometers (223,069.15 miles) takes place 1 day 3 hours 33 minutes earlier, on Tuesday, Jan. 30, at 9:54 UTC (4:54 a.m. EST; 1:54 a.m. PST).

January’s super blue moon is the third in a series of three successive supermoon full moons. Its predecessors in the 2017-2018 supermoon trio reached supermoon fullness Sunday, Dec. 3, 2017, and Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2018. Of the trio, January 2018’s first full moon is the closest and largest. Its full moon distance, logged Jan. 2, at 2:24 UTC (Monday, Jan. 1, at 9:24 p.m. EST; 6:24 p.m. PST), is 356,846 kilometers (221,733.8 miles). Second place goes to December’s full moon supermoon, with a full moon distance of 357,987 kilometers (222,442.8 miles), logged Dec. 3 at 15:47 UTC (10:47 a.m. EST; 7:47 a.m. PST).

The year’s second blue moon, Saturday, March 31, is not a supermoon. AstroPixels, the astronomy-dedicated web site of retired NASA astrophysicist Fred Espenak, places the center-to-center distance between moon and Earth at 376,534 kilometers (miles) at the instant of March 2018 blue moon's fullness. Time and Date places the lunar distance at 376,498 (233,945 miles) from Earth’s center when the moon crosses Greenwich Borough’s meridian (zero degrees longitude) at 12:45 a.m. (Greenwich Mean Time; UTC). The Greenwich meridian passage happens eight minutes after 2018’s second blue moon reaches fullness at 12:37 GMT/UTC.

January’s blue moon also participates in 2018’s first eclipse, which begins at 10:51 UTC (12:51 a.m. Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time). The super blue moon Wednesday, Jan. 31, is the first of two total lunar eclipses in 2018. The second total lunar eclipse takes place Friday, July 27.

January’s eclipse initiates 2018’s quintet of eclipses, which also includes three partial solar eclipses. The year’s solar eclipses occur Thursday, Feb. 15; Friday, July 13; Saturday, Aug. 11.

Contrastingly, 2018’s second blue moon only claims blue moon status. The Saturday, March 31, blue moon does not undergo an eclipse.

The most recent occurrence of two blue moons within the same calendar year in the 20th century (Jan. 1, 1901, to Dec. 31, 2000) happened in 1999. Blue moons happened Sunday, Jan. 31, at 16:07 UTC and Wednesday, March 31, at 22:49 UTC in 1999. January’s blue moon participated in a penumbral lunar eclipse that began at 16:17:31 UTC.

Three years feature two blue moons in the 21st century (Jan. 1, 2001, to Dec. 31, 2100). The immediate successor to 2018’s two blue moons is 2037. Blue moons will happen Saturday, Jan. 31, 14:04 UTC and Tuesday, March 31, at 09:53 UTC in 2037. January’s blue moon will participate in a total lunar eclipse that begins at 14:00:21 UTC.

The third instance of a year of two blue moons in the 21st century happens in 2094. The year’s first blue moon happens Sunday, Jan. 31, at 12:38 UTC. The second blue moon takes place Friday, April 30, at 13:55 UTC.

As the first of two 2018 blue moons, the super blue moon Wednesday, Jan. 31, offers a triple feature as a blue moon that undergoes a total lunar eclipse and has supermoon status.

Jan. 31, 2018, blue moon viewed from Earth at 13:27 UTC, instant of reaching fullness: John Walker, via Fourmilab

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

night side of moon at instant of reaching super blue fullness, Wednesday, Jan. 31, at 13:27 UTC: John Walker, via Fourmilab @ https://www.fourmilab.ch/cgi-bin/Earth

Jan. 31, 2018, blue moon viewed from Earth at 13:27 UTC, instant of reaching fullness: John Walker, via Fourmilab @ https://www.fourmilab.ch/cgi-bin/Earth

For further information:

Espenak, Fred. "Geocentric Ephemeris for Moon: 2018 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)." AstroPixels > Ephemeris > Moon.
Available @ http://astropixels.com/ephemeris/moon/moon2018.html

Espenak, Fred. “Moon at Perigee and Apogee: 2001 to 2100.” AstroPixels > Ephemeris > Moon > Perigee and Apogee.
Available @ http://astropixels.com/ephemeris/moon/moonperap2001.html

Espenak, Fred. “Penumbral Lunar Eclipse of 1999 Jan 31.” Eclipse Wise > Lunar Eclipses > Lunar Eclipses: 1991-2000.
Available @ https://www.eclipsewise.com/lunar/LEprime/1901-2000/LE1999Jan31Nprime.html

Espenak, Fred. “Phases of the Moon: 1901 to 2000 Universal Time.” AstroPixels > Ephemeris > Moon > Six Millennium Catalog of Phases of the Moon.
Available @ http://astropixels.com/ephemeris/phasescat/phases1901.html

Espenak, Fred. “Phases of the Moon: 2001 to 2100 Universal Time.” AstroPixels > Ephemeris > Moon.
Available @ http://astropixels.com/ephemeris/phasescat/phases2001.html

Espenak, Fred. “Total Lunar Eclipse of 2037 Jan 31.” EclipseWise > Lunar Eclipses > Lunar Eclipses: 2091-2100.
Available @ https://www.eclipsewise.com/lunar/LEprime/2001-2100/LE2037Jan31Tprime.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Blue Moon Month January 2018 Opens New Year With Two Full Moons.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2017.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/12/blue-moon-month-january-2018-opens-new.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Crater Timings for Jan. 31, 2018, Total Lunar Eclipse Show Umbral Span.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/01/crater-timings-for-jan-31-2018-total.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “First 2018 Eclipse Is Blue Moon Total Lunar Eclipse Wednesday, Jan. 31.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/01/first-2018-eclipse-is-blue-moon-total.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Jan. 31, 2018, Blue Moon Total Lunar Eclipse Belongs to Saros Cycle 124.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/01/jan-31-2018-blue-moon-total-lunar.html

McClure, Bruce. “January 31 Is 1st of 2 Blue Moons in 2018.” EarthSky > Tonight. Jan. 31, 2018.
Available @ http://earthsky.org/tonight/blue-moon-on-january-31-2018

McClure, Bruce. “Super Blue Moon Eclipse on January 31.” EarthSky > Tonight. Jan. 30, 2018.
Available @ http://earthsky.org/?p=270280

McClure, Bruce; Deborah Byrd. “2018’s Closest Supermoon January 1.” Earthsky > Human World > Space. Jan. 1, 2018.
Available @ http://earthsky.org/space/what-is-a-supermoon

“Moonrise, Moonset, and Phase Calendar for Greenwich Borough, March 2018.” TimeAndDate > Sun & Moon > Moonrise and Moonset.
Available @ https://www.timeanddate.com/moon/uk/greenwich-city?month=3&year=2018

Nolle, Richard. “21st Century SuperMoon Alignments.” Astropro > Features > Tables > 21st Century Lunar Tables > SuperMoons 2000.
Available @ http://www.astropro.com/features/tables/cen21ce/suprmoon.html

Nolle, Richard. “The SuperMoon and Other Lunar Extremes.” The Mountain Astrologer (Oct/Nov 2007): 20-24.
Available @ http://www.mountainastrologer.com/oldfiles/Nolle1007.html

Nolle, Richard. “Supermoon: What It Is, What It Means.” Astropro > Features > Articles. Last updated March 22, 2011.
Available @ http://www.astropro.com/features/articles/supermoon/

First 2018 Eclipse Is Blue Moon Total Lunar Eclipse Wednesday, Jan. 31

Summary: The first 2018 eclipse is the blue moon total lunar eclipse Wednesday, Jan. 31, happening during January’s second full moon, known as a blue moon.

graphics and details of blue moon total lunar eclipse Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2018: "Permission is freely granted to reproduce this data when accompanied by an acknowledgment, Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA GSFC Emeritus," via NASA Eclipse Web Site

The first 2018 eclipse is a blue moon total lunar eclipse Wednesday, Jan. 31, that happens during January’s second full moon, known as a blue moon.

The blue moon lunar eclipse of Wednesday, Jan. 31, begins at 10:51:15 Coordinated Universal Time (12:51:15 a.m. Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time) with the instant of first exterior contact between the moon and Earth’s penumbra, the lighter, outer region of Earth’s shadow. The event ends at 16:08:27 UTC (6:08:27 a.m. HAST) with the instant of last exterior contact between moon and Earth’s penumbra. The blue moon lunar eclipse lasts for 5 hours 17 minutes 12 seconds.

The partial phase of the blue moon total lunar eclipse Wednesday, Jan. 31, begins at 11:48:27 UTC (1:48:27 a.m. HAST) with the instant of first exterior contact between the moon and Earth’s umbra, the darker, inner region of Earth’s shadow. Partiality ends at 15:11:11 UTC (5:11:11 a.m. HAST) with the instant of last exterior contact between the moon and Earth’s umbra. Partiality’s time span is 3 hours 22 minutes 44 seconds.

The total phase of the blue moon total lunar eclipse Wednesday, Jan. 31, begins at 12:51:47 UTC (2:51:47 a.m. HAST) with the instant of first interior contact between the moon and Earth’s umbra. Totality ends at 14:07:51 UTC (4:07:51 a.m. HAST) with the instant of last interior contact between the moon and Earth’s umbra. Totality’s time span is 1 hour 16 minutes 4 seconds.

For lunar eclipses, greatest eclipse references the instant of the moon’s closest passage to the axis of Earth’s shadow. The greatest eclipse for the blue moon total lunar eclipse Wednesday, Jan. 31, takes place at 13:29:51 UTC (3:29:51 a.m. HAST). Retired NASA astrophysicist Fred Espenak's EclipseWise web site places the greatest eclipse's occurrence over the South Pacific Ocean, about 1,800 miles (2,900 kilometers) west of the Hawaiian Islands.

The blue moon total lunar eclipse Wednesday, Jan. 31, centers on the Pacific Ocean. Oceanically, entire eclipse visibility also favors the Arctic Ocean. Continentally, eclipse visibility from beginning to end favors central and eastern Asia, most of Australia and far northern North America.

In North America, Canada experiences entire eclipse visibility throughout Yukon Territory and in much of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Most of British Columbia and the northwestern corner of Alberta also enjoy entire eclipse visibility. Entire eclipse visibility favors only two U.S. states: Alaska on the North American mainland and Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean.

Arctic Ocean and Pacific Ocean islands are favorably sited for entire eclipse visibility. Northern Greenland joins Canada’s, Norway’s and Russia’s Arctic islands in the entire eclipse experience. In Maritime Southeast Asia, all of New Guinea and the Philippines and much of Borneo participate in entire eclipse visibility. Other Pacific island nations favored by entire eclipse visibility include Japan, New Zealand and Samoa.

Oceanic areas with no eclipse visibility at all include most of the Atlantic Ocean and the Southern Ocean. Continentally, most of the continents of Africa, Antarctica, Europe and South America are excluded for eclipse visibility.

The blue moon total lunar eclipse Wednesday, Jan. 31, opens the 2018 eclipse quintet of two total lunar eclipses and three partial solar eclipses. The year’s second total lunar eclipse happens Friday, July 27, and favors the Indian Ocean and adjacent continents.

The year’s first partial solar eclipse succeeds 2018’s first total lunar eclipse. The first partial solar eclipse takes place Thursday, Feb. 15, as a Southern Hemisphere event favoring Antarctica and southern South America. The year’s second partial solar eclipse happens Friday, July 13, as a Southern Hemisphere event favoring the Southern Ocean and southeastern Australia.

The year’s third partial solar eclipse follows 2018’s second total lunar eclipse and also closes the year’s eclipse lineup. The third partial solar eclipse occurs Saturday, Aug. 11, as a Northern Hemisphere event especially favoring the Arctic Circle.

As the first 2018 eclipse, the blue moon total lunar eclipse Wednesday, Jan. 31, stands out as an eclipse favoring both Southern and Northern Hemispheres and especially as a lunar eclipse coinciding with a blue moon.

Earth as viewed from the center of the moon during Jan. 31, 2018’s blue moon total lunar eclipse’s greatest eclipse: Tom Ruen (SockPuppetForTomruen at English Wikipedia), Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

graphics and details of blue moon total lunar eclipse Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2018: "Permission is freely granted to reproduce this data when accompanied by an acknowledgment, Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA GSFC Emeritus," via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/LEplot/LEplot2001/LE2018Jan31T.pdf

Earth as viewed from the center of the moon during Jan. 31, 2018’s blue moon total lunar eclipse’s greatest eclipse: Tom Ruen (SockPuppetForTomruen at English Wikipedia), Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lunar_eclipse_from_moon-2018Jan31.png

For further information:

Emspak, Jesse. “Lunar Eclipse 2018 Guide: When, Where & How to See It.” Space.com. Skywatching. Dec. 31, 2017.
Available @ https://www.space.com/33786-lunar-eclipse-guide.html

Espenak, Fred. “Glossary of Solar Eclipse Terms.” NASA Eclipse Web Site.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/help/SEglossary.html

Espenak, Fred. “Key to Lunar Eclipse Global Maps.” NASA Eclipse Web Site > Lunar Eclipses.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/LEhistory/LEplotkey.html

Espenak, Fred. “Total Lunar Eclipse of 2018 Jan 31.” EclipseWise > Lunar Eclipses > Lunar Eclipses 2001-2100.
Available @ http://eclipsewise.com/lunar/LEprime/2001-2100/LE2018Jan31Tprime.html

Espenak, Fred. “Total Lunar Eclipse of 2018 Jan 31.” NASA Eclipse Web Site > Lunar Eclipses > Lunar Eclipses: 2011-2020.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/LEplot/LEplot2001/LE2018Jan31T.pdf

Espenak, Fred. “Total Lunar Eclipse of January 31.” EclipseWise > Lunar Eclipses > Eclipses During 2018.
Available @ https://www.eclipsewise.com/oh/ec2018.html

“January 31, 2018 -- Total Lunar Eclipse.” TimeAndDate > Sun & Moon > Eclipses.
Available @ https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/lunar/2018-january-31

Marriner, Derdriu. “Blue Moon Month January 2018 Opens New Year With Two Full Moons.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2017.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/12/blue-moon-month-january-2018-opens-new.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Crater Timings for Jan. 31, 2018, Total Lunar Eclipse Show Umbral Span.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/01/crater-timings-for-jan-31-2018-total.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Jan. 31, 2018, Blue Moon Total Lunar Eclipse Belongs to Saros Cycle 124.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/01/jan-31-2018-blue-moon-total-lunar.html

McClure, Bruce. “Super Blue Moon Eclipse on January 31.” EarthSky > Tonight. Jan. 30, 2018.
Available @ http://earthsky.org/?p=270280

Rao, Joe. “First Blue Moon Total Lunar Eclipse in 150 Years Coming This Month.” Space.com. Skywatching. Jan. 1, 2018.
Available @ https://www.space.com/39241-first-blue-moon-total-eclipse-150-years.html

Walker, John. “2018 Jan 31 13:29 UTC.” Fourmilab > Earth and Moon Viewer.
Available @ http://www.fourmilab.ch/cgi-bin/Earth