UAE will observe its first Super Moon of 2019

The show will begin at 9:36 p.m ET, when the moon enters the Earth's penumbra, or the outer part of the shadow it creates as it blocks the sun.

A super moon is a full moon closest to the earth; a blood moon refers to the red-orange tint the moon gets during an eclipse while the wolf moon is the first full moon in January.

And as the eclipse will occur when the moon is at its closest point to Earth, it will appear 14 per cent larger and 30 per cent brighter - making it a supermoon. North and South America, Europe and western Africa will see a total lunar eclipse, but eastern Africa and Asia will only observe a partial eclipse.

The "wolf" reference comes from the term for a full moon in January, according to The Old Farmer's Almanac. The reddish light that reflects back toward us gives the moon a blood-red tone. However, a total lunar eclipse will not be visible in India. The only light reflected from the lunar surface has been refracted by earth's atmosphere.

A Super Moon occurs because the moon is in an elliptical orbit around the Earth. The Earth's atmosphere mostly scatters the blue light (which is why the sky is blue during the day), while the red light that is not scattered completely continues its way to the Moon and makes it red.

Total or partial lunar eclipses happen at least twice a year on average, Florent Deleflie, an astronomer at the Observatory of Paris-PSL told AFP. The next chance for a glimpse at a lunar eclipse will be in 2022, but the entire continent won't be able to see the totality of a lunar eclipse again until 2029. The moon will be at the absolute middle of Earth's umbra at 12:12 a.m. on Monday, at which the red color will be most striking.

The supermoon will be visible on the night of January 21, and on average a supermoon is nearly 13 per cent brighter than a full moon.

Why does the moon turn red?

In a nutshell, this is a rare enough occurence to be worth you standing outside on a blisteringly cold January night, staring up at the sky. But the whole event will last much longer.

You don't need special equipment to see the eclipse; simply step outside and ogle the moon.

Unlike a solar eclipse, the lunar eclipse is safe to view with a pair of binoculars or can be seen with the naked eye.