2-for-1: Total Lunar Eclipse Comes with Supermoon Bonus | WeatherBug
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2-for-1: Total Lunar Eclipse Comes with Supermoon Bonus

January 21, 2019
By MARCIA DUNN, AP
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The only total lunar eclipse this year and next came with a supermoon bonus.

On Sunday night, the moon, Earth and sun lined up to create the eclipse, which was visible throughout North and South America, where skies were clear. There won’t be another until the year 2021.

It was also the year’s first supermoon, when a full moon appears a little bigger and brighter thanks to its slightly closer position.

The entire eclipse took more than three hours. Totality — when the moon’s completely bathed in Earth’s shadow — lasted an hour. During a total lunar eclipse, the eclipsed, or blood, moon turns red from sunlight scattering off Earth’s atmosphere.

In addition to the Americas, the entire lunar extravaganza could be observed, weather permitting, all the way across the Atlantic to parts of Europe.

Image: A U.S. Flag in downtown Washington flies in front of the moon during a lunar eclipse, Sunday, Jan. 20, 2019. The entire eclipse will exceed three hours. Totality - when the moon's completely bathed in Earth's shadow - will last an hour. Expect the eclipsed, or blood moon, to turn red from sunlight scattering off Earth's atmosphere. (AP Photo/J. David Ake)