Want China Times
Date: 2015-09-10
By: Staff Reporter
A total eclipse of a supermoon will take place during this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival, which
A blood moon observed from Yunnan province, April 4. It was the shortest total eclipse recorded so far this century. (File photo/Xinhua)
will fall on Sept. 27, reports our Chinese-language sister paper Want Daily, though sadly the event will not be visible from China to coincide with the festival celebrated by gazing at the moon.
The last supermoon occurred in August 2014 but the last eclipse of a supermoon was 30 years ago on Sept. 27, 1982. The next will not occur until 2033.
Wang Sichao, a researcher at the Purple Mountain Observatory attached to the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said the eclipse will not be visible in China, though, people in the Americas, Africa and Europe will be able to see it.
A supermoon is observed when the moon is at its shortest distance from the Earth in the orbital cycle, making it appear brighter and around 12%-14% bigger than usual. Wang said the moon during the festival this year will appear to be particularly large due to the coincidental occurrence of the supermoon and the eclipse. [FULL STORY]
