January 2019 is here and the first month of the year has something spectacular for the Astro enthusiasts and stargazers. Three phases of the moon will be seen on the night of January 20-21. Called the Super blood wolf moon eclipse, the earth's satellite will turn up the sky all bright and red in its glow. This celestial event is being described as one of the sky's "most dazzling shows" by NASA. The moon will be at its closest point from the earth thus called the Supermoon. It is also the total lunar eclipse phase and since the moon will appear reddish, it is also called the blood moon. Know Super Blood Wolf Moon 2019 Date and Timings.

So 2019 is starting off well for those in the United States, as for the first time in three years, a total lunar eclipse will be seen there. North and South America along with western parts of Europe and Africa will be able to see this celestial event. Asian subcontinent will not get to see any phase of this rare phenomenon. Super Blood Moon on January 21 is a Doomsday? Rare Celestial Event Combining Total Lunar Eclipse 2019 Predicts Apocalypse.

What is a Total Lunar Eclipse?

A lunar eclipse is a phenomenon when the Earth's shadow blocks the sun's light and it thus reflects from the moon. A total lunar eclipse occurs when the sun, earth and moon are in a perfect line. This can only occur on a full moon day. The moon does not have its own light but it shines because of the reflection of sunrays. On a total lunar eclipse day, since the earth blocks any view between the sun and moon, the earth casts a shadow on the moon, which is how we see the eclipse.

Why Wolf Moon?

The ancient civilizations depended on the lunar months or the moon's phases to predict about the seasonal changes. The northern hemisphere season included howling wolves. In mid-winter, the Native American tribes heard of the howling wolves. The wolves used to typically howl while looking upward in the sky. Thus the full moon of January is called as the Wolf Moon.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 02, 2019 12:15 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).