A “Remarkably Rare” Blue Supermoon Tonight In Ireland
A “remarkably rare” blue supermoon would be seen in Ireland tonight as well as tomorrow.
When the moon is in the sky at its closest point to Earth, it is called a supermoon. When the supermoon is blue, it is one of the rarest occurrences in the world since it will not happen again in another thirteen years, that is, 2037.
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There would hardly be a distance of 15 per cent when the moon is standing closest to the Earth at the time, the blue supermoon occurs then.
According to Astronomy Ireland, when the supermoon appears with a full moon, its brightness increases up to 30 per cent, which creates a new form of luminous blue supermoon in the sky.
Astronomy Ireland also stated that at this time of the year, full moons are extremely rare in the sky. It makes them more special and have therefore asked the stargazers to come out and enjoy the moon lining.
It would be one of the extraordinary experiences for those who love astronomical viewing. They would come out with their cameras to take pictures at night.
It is anticipated that the current year will have four consecutive supermoons.
Astronomy Ireland’s views on blue supermoon
David Moore from Astronomy Ireland mentioned that the best time to cherish the view of a blue supermoon would be when it rises and the hour when the sun sets.
He added that at this particular time, the moon would appear bigger to the human eye, which would add to the beauty of the supermoon with an effect called ‘moon illusion’.
The moon illusion is a phenomenon otherwise not seen during normal days. On regular days, when you put your thumb over the moon, the moon would be blocked under your thumb.
Nevertheless, this would not be the case on supermoon night. Scientists say it is also a psychological illusion since the objects on the horizon appear closer to us as it is our brain that thinks so. It depends on how each person’s brain interprets the information. The moon looking bigger in the sky is also because of the moon being low on the horizon, appearing to be larger in size.
Moore said, “We want people to get creative on Monday and Tuesday evenings from sunset on and catch the very rare SuperMoon Blue Moon from Ireland”.
He called upon people with their creative photos so that they could send their pictorial submissions to Astronomy Ireland. The pictures would be archived in the National Library later.
However, the weather report department said there is a possibility of rain and clouds all over the country that could affect the moon sighting.
Tomorrow, it will be comparatively dry and the sky will be clear, the department clarified. In some areas, isolated showers are predicted and some clouds might form during the evening or at night.
The supermoon this week would be clearly visible from 8:15 pm on Tuesday, from 8:35 pm on Wednesday and 8:50 pm on Thursday.
