Wednesday, Jan 31, 2018 10:47 AMUpdated Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2018 11:07 AM
Colorado gets a supermoon, blue moon and eclipse in one day
A composite image of Wednesday morning’s full lunar eclipse.
Emily Rice/The Journal
Emily Rice/The Journal<br>The supermoon over Cortez. A supermoon is a moon that appears to its largest to observers because its elliptical orbit is closer to Earth. Photographed on Jan. 31, 2018, at 4:15 a.m., at Totten Lake, Cortez, Colorado.<br><br>Photo exposure: Nikon D3000, Sigma 18-300 lens, tripod, f/8. 1/8000, ISO 1000
Emily Rice/The Journal<br>The supermoon enters the Earth’s penumbra, a partial shadow created by an incomplete alignment between sun, Earth and moon to begin the lunar eclipse. Photographed Jan. 31, 2018, at 5:30 a.m. at Totten Lake in Cortez, Colorado.<br><br>Photo exposure: Nikon D3000, Sigma 18-300 lens, tripod, f/8. 1/8000, ISO 1000
Emily Rice/The Journal <br>The supermoon enters the Earth’s umbra, the dark circular shadow of Earth’s spherical shape projected by more exact alignment of the sun, Earth and moon to further the lunar eclipse. Photographed Jan. 31, 2018, at 5:40 a.m. at Totten Lake in Cortez, Colorado.<br><br>Photo exposure: Nikon D3000, Sigma 18-300 lens, tripod, f/8. 1/3200, ISO 800
Emily Rice/The Journal<br>The supermoon is swallowed by the Earth’s umbra, the dark circular shadow of Earth’s spherical shape projected by more exact alignment of the sun, Earth and moon. Photographed Jan. 31, 2018, at 5:45 a.m. at Totten Lake in Cortez, Colorado.<br><br>Photo exposure: Nikon D300, Sigma 18-300 lens, tripod, f/8. 1/500, ISO 500
Emily Rice/The Journal<br>The supermoon, totally immersed inside Earth’s projected shadow appears to glow red. Photographed Jan. 31, 2018, at 5:55 a.m. from Totten Lake in Cortez, Colorado. <br><br>Exposure: Nikon D3000, Sigma 18-300 lens, tripod, f/6.3. 1/8, ISO 2000
Sky watchers got a rare sight on Wednesday morning, when the moon appeared over Cortez as a supermoon, a blue moon and a total lunar eclipse.
A supermoon is a moon that appears its largest to observers because its elliptical orbit is closer to Earth. Because Wednesday morning’s moon was the second full moon in one calendar month, it earned the familiar nickname “blue moon,” which occurs about every three years. January’s first full moon occurred Jan. 1.
But for a few minutes about 5:55 a.m. Wednesday, this blue moon turned a spectacular red as it became totally immersed inside Earth’s shadow, creating a total lunar eclipse. It was the first total lunar eclipse of a blue moon in the U.S. since March 1866.
The eclipse was visible from the West Coast to eastern Asia, but the best view was in the West. Sky watchers in the Midwest and East saw only a partial eclipse because the moon will set before totality.
