Tomorrow, we’ll be able to witness an extremely rare triple lunar phenomenon, the “super blue blood moon”, the last of which took place 36 years ago in this part of the world and as long as 152 years ago in the western hemisphere.
We’re lucky that, in all of Indonesia, the super blue blood moon should be observable from moonrise in the evening of January 31, as opposed to before sunrise in most of the western hemisphere. While the phenomena should be observable by the naked eye (weather permitting), in Jakarta, the city’s planetarium located inside Cikini’s Taman Ismail Marzuki is holding a viewing event where attendees can get an even closer look at the moon’s surface using any of the 15 telescopes the planetarium will provide.
However, there is bound to be competition for time on the telescopes as interest in the viewing event is cosmically high.
“Until today there have been 4,000 people who have signed up to enjoy the super blue blood moon at the Jakarta Planetarium,” said Eko Wahyu Wibowo, head of Events and Publication at the planetarium, as quoted by Sindonews yesterday.
Anyone wishing to use the telescope must first sign up online through the planetarium’s website here. Entry to the event is free to the public.
“People will take turns on the telescope, each will get approximately two minutes,” Eko said.
The super blue blood moon will be observable in Jakarta for just over 5 hours from 5:51 pm to 11:08 pm. In case of overcast or rainy weather, there will be a giant screen at the planetarium showing a video feed of the special lunar event from elsewhere.
Aside from the planetarium, other public spaces in Jakarta that will hold group viewing events of the super blue blood moon include Ancol, Fatahillah Square in Kota Tua, Taman Mini Indonesia Indah and Monas.
Why are there so many adjectives describing tomorrow’s cosmic phenomenon? Well, a super moon is when the moon is closest to its nearest approach to earth, appearing larger than normal; a blue moon is the rare occasion of there being two full moons in one month (the first one appearing on January 1) — hence the common English phrase about rarity; and a blood moon is the red tint the earth’s shadow casts on the moon during a lunar eclipse. The last time these three lunar events occurred concurrently was in 1982, and even then it was only observable in the eastern hemisphere. The western hemisphere hasn’t seen a super blue blood moon since 1866.
More good news: if you miss tomorrow’s super blue blood moon, you won’t have to wait another 152 years until the next one, which is expected to occur in 2037.
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