Dear Editor,
There will be a total eclipse of the Moon after midnight next Sunday-Monday Jan 20-21.
Good simulations can be found on the internet, so it is no longer necessary for me to provide more shadow details.
During eclipse the Moon will be a bit north of directly overhead, heading west, between the constellations Gemini and Cancer.
The popular constellation Orion will be further west and a little below and left of Gemini. The Southern Cross will be rising in the South-East.
The Moon will be at one of its two closest positions to the Earth in 2019 (the other is on Aug 30), so it will appear a little larger than usual, a ‘supermoon’, and the spring tides will the second highest for the year. (The spring tides around Aug 30 will be the highest because then the Sun will be contributing its pull at our latitudes.)
Yours faithfully,
Alfred Bhulai