Moon to take ‘Super Flower Red Blood’ hue on May 26

The ‘full moon’ of May, also called the ‘Flower Moon’ will occur on May 26. This full moon is a ‘special full moon’ as this is the closest super moon of 2021. With earth set to ‘eclipse’ this celestial event, the moon will appear ‘Blood Red’ in some regions. The Moon goes around the earth in an elliptical path. The Earth is located at a point near the centre. This makes the Moon orbit the earth in such a way that it comes close to it and moves away in this orbit, as seen from earth. 

On average, the moon is 384400kms away from the earth. When at perigee (the closest point to earth), the moon is around 356500km away. When the Moon is at this perigee in its full moon phase, it is called a Super moon. The converse is also applicable, that is when the full moon is at apogee (the farthest point from earth); it is called a micro moon. Depending on its distance, a super moon is 7% bigger than an average full moon and 13% bigger than a micro moon. 

On May 26, the moon will come as close as 357313 km and will be 357393km away from the earth when it reaches the full phase at 2.13pm and will remain in this phase till 7.15pm. This will be the closest super moon for 2021. As the Moon passes behind the earth every month, it escapes the earth’s shadow because of the 5degree tilt in the moon’s orbit.  However, at certain points in a year, the full moon passes from the earth’s shadow which causes the lunar eclipse. 

The super moon of May will pass through the earth’s proper shadow – the umbra. During this time, it will be devoid of the Sun’s light reflecting off of its surface for 11 minutes. At this moment, the light from the sun, passing off the edge of the earth, falls on the moon. The sunlight passes through the parts of the earth that are in the twilight. The orange-coloured sunlight that illuminates the earth’s sky during this time, fall on the moon, giving it a red hue. This causes the moon to appear red. 

The moon turns red every time it passes through the earth’s proper shadow (the Umbra) and it is called the red-blood moon.  Due to the angle and the timing, this lunar eclipse will only be visible for the entire duration in the Oceania region of the globe and the parts of the eclipse will be visible in countries like Japan, Indonesia and China. In India, the eclipse is said to appear penumbral from the Northeastern states. However, the very faint penumbral shadow and the timings practically make it impossible to see the eclipse from our country. 

Although one cannot see the eclipse in India, one can, however, enjoy the super flower Moon and see the lunar mares and craters facing the earth on this full moon. Hope all get clear skies to enjoy the beauty of the closest full moon for 2021. 

Source: PPAC, Udupi

This post has been published in arrangement with Jaideep J Shenoy