Super Blood Wolf Moon: 2019's First Month brings Another One of God's 'Dazzling' Light-shows in the Sky

Aimee Herd : Jan 8, 2019
USA Today

"Then God said, 'Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth'; and it was so. Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also." (Genesis 1:14-19)

The new year kicks off with something special, astronomically speaking; a lunar eclipse the night of January 20th, causing the full moon to appear reddish in color, sparking the nickname 'blood moon.' (Image: Creative Commons-Pixabay)

Not only will the moon be full, as it is every 28 days, but it will also be in perigee, which means it's what we call a 'supermoon.'

According to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory at California Institute of Technology:

Viewers in North and South America, as well as those in western parts of Europe and Africa, will be able to watch one of the sky's most dazzling shows on Jan. 20, 2019, when the Sun, Earth and Moon align at 9:12 p.m. PST, creating a total lunar eclipse. The full moon will also be at its closest point to Earth in its orbit, called perigee. While at perigee, the Moon appears slightly bigger and brighter from our perspective on Earth, so it's often referred to as a "supermoon."

A USA Today report notes that the lunar eclipse will begin with a "little notch" seemingly taken out of the full moon at about 6:30pm PST, followed by partial eclipse at 7:30pm and maximum lunar eclipse at 9:12pm PST.

Brian Murphy, director of the Holbomb Observatory and Planetarium in Indiana told USA Today, "The moon starts to enter into the Earth's shadow in a portion called the umbra when the sun is totally blocked out. Earth is moving from right to left through the shadow."

The report explains that: Although the moon is in the Earth's shadow, some sunlight still reaches the moon. The sunlight passes through Earth's atmosphere, which causes our atmosphere to filter out most of the blue light.

Some sunlight reaches the Earth's atmosphere, which envelops the moon and gives it the rich color.

But why is this month's full moon referred to as a 'wolf' moon? (Image: Creative Commons-Pixabay)

According to an explanation in the Old Farmer's Almanac, Native Americans tracked the months and seasons using the moon, and they commonly called January's full moon the "Wolf" moon because it occurred around the time when wolves could be heard "howling in hunger outside their villages." Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

Click here to read an extensive report on this month's "Super Blood Wolf" moon in USA Today.