Super Moon delights with eclipse over Tonga [1]
Thursday, February 1, 2018 - 19:12. Updated on Thursday, February 1, 2018 - 20:00.
Photos by Mary Lyn Fonua
A rare "super blue blood" Moon lit up the sky last night in Tongatapu followed by a full lunar eclipse in the early hours of this morning, when the moon went dark for over an hour.
Sunset provided a panoramic sight as two ends of the sky were lit up with a crimson horizon to west and a silver horizon to the east when the Moon was rising. Many young people went out for a late-night swim on the Nuku'alofa seafront, enjoying the moonshine reflecting off the sea.
The super blue blood moon was observed in many places around the world. It appeared blood red in parts of New Zealand, but appeared blue in Tonga and Fiji.
The rare event combined three unusual occurrences of a blue moon – (the second full moon in a calendar month) occurring at the same time as a super moon, (when the moon is at perigee closer to Earth in its orbit and about 14% brighter than usual), and a so-called blood moon (the moment during a lunar eclipse while the Moon is in the Earth’s shadow it takes on a reddish tint) The last time the three elements combined at the same time was in 1866.
January 31- February 1
Tongatapu Group, Tongatapu, Tonga
Total lunar eclipse visible
Duration:5 hours, 17 minutes, 16 seconds
Duration of totality:1 hour, 16 minutes, 4 seconds
Penumbral began:Jan 31 at 11:51:13 pm
Partial began:Feb 1 at 12:48:27 am
Full began:Feb 1 at 1:51:47 am
Maximum:Feb 1 at 2:29:51 am
Full ends:Feb 1 at 3:07:51 am
Partial ends:Feb 1 at 4:11:11 amv Penumbral ends:Feb 1 at 5:08:29 am
Times shown in local time (TOT)