Where can I see blood moon 2019?

Remember That Awesome Blood Moon in 2019? Here’s Where You Could’ve Seen It!

Okay, picture this: January 20th, 2019. The air’s crisp, maybe a little chilly, and all eyes are glued to the night sky. Why? Because Mother Nature was putting on a show. We’re talking about a total lunar eclipse, the kind that makes you feel small and insignificant in the best possible way. This wasn’t just any lunar eclipse, though. Oh no, this was a “Super Blood Wolf Moon!” I mean, come on, does it get any cooler than that name? Basically, it was a supermoon (meaning the full moon was closer to Earth, making it look bigger and brighter), it had that eerie reddish glow we call a blood moon, and it was the first full moon of the year – hence, the “wolf” part. Pretty neat, huh?

So, where were the prime seats for this celestial performance? Well, if you were kicking back in North or South America, Europe, or western Africa, you were in luck. These areas got the full, unadulterated eclipse experience, assuming the clouds played nice. Folks in central and eastern Africa, and parts of Asia, got a pretty decent partial eclipse too. Bad news for anyone in India, though – sadly, you missed out on this one.

Of course, seeing the blood moon wasn’t just about being in the right place. A bunch of things had to line up. For starters, you needed clear skies. No brainer, right? Clouds are the ultimate party poopers when it comes to stargazing. But even things like dust or other tiny particles in the atmosphere could mess with the view, maybe even changing the color of the moon during the main event. Also, moonrise and moonset times mattered. Depending on where you were, the moon might have been playing hide-and-seek, popping up or dipping down at inconvenient times. And let’s not forget twilight – that pesky glow can definitely steal the show, especially during the early and late stages of the eclipse.

Just to give you an idea of how it all unfolded, here’s a rough timeline (Pacific Standard Time, that is):

• 6:36 p.m. PST: The moon started dipping its toe into the penumbra – that’s the Earth’s outer, fainter shadow.
• 7:33 p.m. PST: Things got real as the moon edged into the umbra, the Earth’s darker, main shadow.
• 8:41 p.m. PST: Boom! Total eclipse! The moon was completely swallowed by the umbra.
• 9:43 p.m. PST: The moon started peeking out from the umbra, signaling the end of totality.
• 10:50 p.m. PST: The moon was completely free of the umbra.
• 11:48 p.m. PST: The whole shebang was over as the moon fully escaped the penumbra.

All in all, the whole thing took about three and a half hours, with the total eclipse part lasting around an hour. Worth staying up late for? Absolutely!

Now, about that “blood moon” thing. Why does it turn red? Well, it’s all thanks to our atmosphere. It’s like a filter, scattering the blue light from the sun and letting the red light shine through, bending it onto the moon’s surface. The result? A spooky, beautiful, reddish glow. How intense that red is depends on what’s going on in the atmosphere.

What made this eclipse extra special? It was the combination of the supermoon and the total lunar eclipse. Talk about a cosmic double whammy! And get this – we didn’t see another total lunar eclipse like that until May 2021. So, if you caught it, consider yourself lucky!

The best part about lunar eclipses? You don’t need any fancy equipment to enjoy them. Unlike solar eclipses, you can look directly at a lunar eclipse without hurting your eyes. Of course, a pair of binoculars or a telescope can definitely enhance the experience, letting you see all the cool details on the moon’s surface and the subtle shades in the Earth’s shadow. But even just your own two eyes are enough to appreciate the sheer awesomeness of a lunar eclipse. Here’s hoping you got to see it!