Sarawakians will get the chance to view rare lunar phenomenon on Jan 31

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A lunar eclipse occurs when the sun, earth, and moon are in a linear position and the whole moon crosses the shadow of the Earth’s umbra. – Photo by Angkasa

KUCHING: Sarawakians will on Jan 31 get the chance to view a rare lunar phenomenon that has not occurred since 1866 – a blue moon, supermoon, and total lunar eclipse.

The rare event will be visible in Eastern Europe, East Africa, Asia, Australia and North America.

A press release from the National Space Agency (Angkasa) yesterday said the full super blue blood moon eclipse will be at 9.29pm and end at 12.08am on Feb 1.

It explained that the eclipse will start after moonrise.

In Kuching, moonrise will begin at 6.43pm, while in Kota Kinabalu it will begin at 6.14pm.

The press release explained that a lunar eclipse occurs when the sun, earth, and moon are in a linear position and the whole moon crosses the shadow of the Earth’s umbra.

This will give the eclipse the look of darkening and reddening before returning to its original colour at the end of the over five-hour phenomenon.

On Jan 31, the supermoon will occur as the moon will be less than 360,000km from Earth, making it appear larger than usual.

A blue moon occurs when there are two full moons in the same calendar month.

Angkasa said no specific equipment is needed to enjoy this phenomenon but the use of telescopes and binoculars will make it clearer.

It also pointed out that what can be seen will also depend on weather conditions.