'Super blue blood moon' will be visible in the U.S. on Jan. 31

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Americans can enjoy a special celestial event at the end of the month.

NASA says a “super blue blood moon” will be visible in the early morning hours on Wednesday, Jan. 31st.

The full moon will be special for multiple reasons:




    NASA says viewing the eclipse may be challenging in the eastern time zone, with the best viewing in the western U.S.

    “The eclipse begins at 5:51 AM ET, as the Moon is about to set in the western sky, and the sky is getting lighter in the east,” said Gordon Johnston, program executive and lunar blogger at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

    The Moon will enter the outer part of Earth’s shadow at 5:51 a.m. EST, but it reportedly won’t be all that noticeable. The darker part of Earth’s shadow will begin to blanket part of the Moon with a reddish tint at 6:48 a.m. EST, but the Moon will set less than a half-hour later, according to NASA.

    “So your best opportunity if you live in the East is to head outside about 6:45 a.m. and get to a high place to watch the start of the eclipse—make sure you have a clear line of sight to the horizon in the west-northwest, opposite from where the Sun will rise,” said Johnston.

    The next lunar eclipse will be on Jan. 21, 2019 and will be visible throughout all of the U.S.