Vietnamese can watch the full moon and super moon tonight

Two astronomical phenomena occurred simultaneously on the evening of January 31 and if the weather was favorable, all regions of Vietnam were observed.

Mr. Dang Vu Tuan Son, Chairman of Vietnam Young Astronomical Society (VACA) said that the evening of 31/1 eclipse will last more than five hours (from 17h51 to 23h08), in which the total lunar eclipse will took place from 19h51 to 21h07. "In theory, every region in Vietnam can follow this phenomenon but with the cloudy weather like today it is very difficult to observe," Son said.

It is not a rare phenomenon but it happens simultaneously with Super Moon today which is very interesting. This is arguably the most remarkable astronomical phenomenon of 2018.

The total eclipse of January 31 is one of the two Vietnamese lunar eclipses that can be observed in 2018. The next time is July 27.(Artwork: Space).

Mr. Son explained that super moon is the time when the full moon coincides with the time when the Moon is closest to Earth (near-point). So the Moon looks about 7% bigger than usual. "Of course, this number is quite small and difficult for us to observe clearly, but it will make the eclipse more beautiful and attractive , " Son said.

Another coincidence is that the full moon on January 31 is also the second full moon in the same month . According to the culture of many Western countries, the second full moon in the same calendar month is called the "blue moon of the month". In fact, this is a pure cultural issue, the moon has no change in color or shape.

The total eclipse, super moon and "month of the month" does not coincide with a rule of time. The last time this coincidence was 150 years ago.

Distinguish super moon, blood moon and blue moon.