KUALA LUMPUR: Bad weather fizzled hopes by many who came to watch the rare “super blue blood moon” phenomenon from the National Planetarium here.
Their only consolation came in the form of simulation and live telecast of the phenomenon, promptly organised by the planetarium as the rain and thick clouds rain covered the skyline.
The planetarium chief senior assistant director, Mohd Zamri Shah Mastor, said a total of 14 telescopes were prepared for the public to view the phenomenon that was supposed to take place from 7.48pm until 11.11pm.
He said the total lunar eclipse, also known as a 'bloodmoon', was to start from 8.51pm, reaching its peak at 9.29pm, and ends at 10.07pm.
"It is not often that we get to witness a lunar eclipse, 'blue moon' and 'supermoon' all at the same time.
"The last time where a 'super blue blood moon' occur was about 152 years ago, on March 31, 1866," he said.
Zamri explained that during the total lunar eclipse, the Earth moves between the Sun and the Moon, preventing the sunlight to reach the surface of the moon.
"When this happens, the surface of the Moon takes on a reddish glow, hence the term 'bloodmoon'.
"A 'blue moon' on the other hand, is a term used to refer to the second full moon in a month. The first full moon of the month occured on Jan 1.
"A 'supermoon' happens when the full moon coincides with the moon's closest point to Earth in its orbit. During this phenomenon, the moon appear a little brighter and bigger than normal," he said.
It was reported previously that, that the 'supermoon' occured on Jan 1 where the moon was about 358,994 kilometers away from Earth, compared to the average distance of 384,400 km.