Singaporeans catch view of rare astronomical event last seen 152 years ago

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Skywatchers across western North America set their alarms to wake before dawn on Wednesday to see a rare type of lunar eclipse called a "Super Blue Blood Moon.
The supermoon taken from Upper East Coast Road during the eclipse on Jan 31, 2018 at 9.50pm. ST PHOTO: BENJAMIN SEETOR
The moon as seen from a rooftop garden in Toa Payoh North on Jan 31, 2018. ST PHOTO: WANG HUI FEN
The total lunar eclipse seen from the Singapore Science Centre. ST PHOTO: ALVIN HO
The moon as seen from Upper East Coast Road on Jan 31, 2018. ST PHOTO: BENJAMIN SEETOR
Engineer Dakshath (right), and Science educator See Eng Sheng view the partial eclipse using outdoor telescopes. ST PHOTO: ALVIN HO
Nurse Lee Kim Geok viewing the partial eclipse at the Science Centre. ST PHOTO: ALVIN HO
A crowd waiting to observe the lunar eclipse using the telescopes at the Singapore Science Centre. ST PHOTO: ALVIN HO
A crowd of people at the Singapore Science Centre trying to photograph the eclipse with their phones. ST PHOTO: ALVIN HO
People gather to watch the moon from a rooftop garden in Toa Payoh North on Jan 31, 2018. ST PHOTO: WANG HUI FEN

SINGAPORE - Many Singaporeans had their gazes trained on the sky on Wednesday evening (Jan 31), with some peering through telescopes to catch a rare astronomical event also witnessed by others around the world.

A lunar eclipse, a blue moon and a supermoon occurred simultaneously - in a rare coincidence which last happened on March 31, 1866.

About 5,000 visitors flocked to The Observatory at The Science Centre Singapore to use one of 11 telescopes set up to catch the rare lunar eclipse. A special viewing session was held from 7.30pm to 10.30pm.

At around 8.50pm, a full eclipse was visible, prompting visitors to whip out their phones and cameras to capture the moment.

Ms Sally Sun, 28, a mechanical engineer, who viewed the full eclipse through one of the telescopes, said: "There was a gradient of brown to red. I've seen the blood moon in many photos, but it's amazing and meaningful to see it for yourself, as I'm a big fan of astronomy."

Mr Karthik Addagarla, 30, an operations manager, had to queue at the Science Centre for about two hours. "It was worth my time. This is a rare phenomenon. Through the telescope, I could see the red moon much clearer than with the naked eye."

Over at National Junior College (NJC), about 300 people gathered at the eight observation decks set up at NJC to see the astronomical phenomenon.

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The moon as seen from Jurong West St 81. PHOTO: SHANKARI R. CHANTHERASEGARN
The moon as seen from Clarke Quay at around 8.40pm on Jan 31, 2018. PHOTO: ADRIANE LEE

They included the college's students and their parents along with staff and their families.

NJC also invited students and teachers from other schools, including Greenridge Primary, Northland Secondary, and Kranji Secondary.

Explaining the blood moon phenomenon, chief executive of Science Centre Singapore Lim Tit Meng said that sunlight is of multiple wavelengths, and longer wavelengths, such as those of a red colour, are deflected and cast onto the moon during the lunar eclipse.

The shorter wavelengths are instead scattered into the atmosphere, said Associate Professor Lim.

Prof Lim said: "We want to use our event to promote awareness and to educate the public and visitors on astronomy. Science comes from observation of nature... who knows, among the young visitors, some of them may become space scientists."

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It was almost 152 years when the lunar eclipse, a blue moon and a supermoon happened at the same time.

A lunar eclipse is when the moon enters the earth's shadow. When there is a total lunar eclipse, the moon takes on a red colour and is known as a blood moon.

Because the full moon on Wednesday night will be the second full moon of the month, it is dubbed a blue moon. It does not appear blue, but is given the name for its rarity as it occurs once every two years and eight months.

The moon as seen from Block 4, Sago Lane. PHOTO: SAN ISMI-EILERMAN

As for the supermoon, the term refers to when a full moon coincides with the moon being the closest to earth.

Apart from Asia, astronomy enthusiasts in other parts of the world, such as western North America, the Middle East, eastern Russia, Australia and New Zealand, could also observe the rare cosmic event.

Mr Vincen Lim, 36, an analyst, and his four-year-old son Raynor queued for about an hour and a half to enter The Observatory. "The moon looked greyish in colour. It was not the full eclipse yet. Still, it was a good opportunity to expose my son to astronomy," Mr Lim said.

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