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Simma Sky: New Year Super Blood Wolf Moon

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — 2019 starts off with a bang in the night skies of the northern hemisphere. A series of "firsts" kicks off on January 20-21 with the first full moon of 2019, the first super moon of 2019, and the first lunar eclipse of 2019. You're gonna want to see this one.

Wolf Moon

Let's start with the name. The first full moon of the year is named the "wolf" full moon because of the howling of wolves most commonly heard during January. Wolves howl more during their mating season in January & February. Plus, "wolf" just sounds awesome. WOLF.

Super Moon

A super moon is a full (or new) moon that occurs at the same time that the moon is closest to earth during its orbit. The point at which the moon is closest to earth is called "perigee." There is a small and almost negligible difference visually between a super moon and micro moon (one that occurs at "apogee" - when the moon is farthest away from the earth). It's cool to call it a "super" moon, but you won't really notice a difference.

It's nearly impossible to compare the apparent size of the super moon with a micro moon from memory, but when seen side-by-side as in this graphic, it becomes clear. Credit:

A super moon looks bigger than a "micro moon" (when the full moon is at apogee) because it's about 40,000 kilometers closer to Earth on average. Credit:

Lunar Eclipse

Ah yes, the "blood" part. A total lunar eclipse occurs at the same time as all these others listed above. You'll definitely notice the moon change color - it may be more like a brownish yellow instead of the red you might expect. Certain cameras and lenses can capture the reddish color you see in pictures everywhere. The entire umbral eclipse - the darkest shadow cast during the eclipse - will last more than three hours according to earthsky.org. The ENTIRE eclipse will be visible for North and South America! The partial eclipse begins at 10:34 PM on January 20 and ends at 1:51 AM on January 21. All times Eastern.

Chart courtesy earthsky.org.

This will be the last total lunar eclipse to grace the sky until 2021. Two years down the road.