Moon will put on super show for New Year’s
Our celestial neighbor will appear brighter, bigger in close pass to Earth
You can expect to see the usual fireworks displays on New Year’s Eve — but this year, revelers will also be treated to a different kind of night sky spectacle on the first day of 2018.
A “supermoon” will rise just after sunset Monday, the second in a “trilogy” of big moons in December and January. It will appear up to 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than a typical full moon as it reaches the closest point to Earth in its elliptical orbit around our planet.
The New Year’s Day moon will be the closest to Earth of the three supermoons — and will probably be the biggest and brightest moon of 2018. One arrived on Dec. 3, and another will appear on Jan. 31.
Monday’s celestial display will be most impressive right around moonrise, at 5:04 p.m., as the moon makes its way over the eastern horizon. Looming over the Earth, it will appear larger when viewed against trees, the skyline or other objects on the ground than it does in the open sky.
“If you see the moon rising above the horizon,
it can be kind of dramatic,” said Conrad Jung, staff astronomer at the Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland. “It’s the sky’s way of saying ‘Happy New Year.’ ”
Waiting to look at the moon in the sky by itself might be underwhelming, however, because it can be difficult for the naked eye to tell the difference between a supermoon and a regular full moon without visual context.
“Any time you put the word ‘super’ in front of something, it’s good for publicity,” said astronomer Andrew Fraknoi, chairman emeritus of Foothill College’s astronomy department. “But it’s not a laser show or a George Lucas movie.”
Weather forecasters are predicting partially cloudy skies Monday night in the Bay Area, so you may find it hard to catch a glimpse of the moon.
If you miss it, you’ll have another chance to spot a supermoon on Jan. 31. Near dawn, about 5:30 a.m. in the Bay Area, there will also be a total lunar eclipse as the Earth blocks out light from the sun to the moon — giving our astronomical neighbor an eerie glow and, possibly, a reddish tint.
Having two full moons in one month makes the second one a blue moon — so the Jan. 31 lunar spectacle will be a “super blue blood” moon.
“This one will be cute, but the third one will be really sexy,” Fraknoi said.
During the eclipse, the reds at the end of the color spectrum will hit the moon, turning it “kind of a blood orange color,” said Richard Ozer, 56, president of the Eastbay Astronomical Society, who plans to get up early to photograph the event if the weather cooperates.
“It’s quite stunning,” he said.
“Any time you put the word ‘super’ in front of something, it’s good for publicity. But it’s not a laser show or a George Lucas movie.”
— Andrew Fraknoi, astronomer