Hawaii enjoys the ‘best seat in the house’ for first full lunar eclipse in over two years
Hawaii residents willing to give up a good night’s sleep were treated to the “best seat in the house” overnight when the first total lunar eclipse in more than two years coincided with a “super flower blood moon.”
The entire event took about five hours, beginning at 10:47 p.m. Hawaii time Tuesday with the full eclipse lasting about 15 minutes starting at 1:18 a.m. today as the moon passed the shadow of the Earth.
The so-called super blood moon is a combination of a total lunar eclipse and a brighter-than-usual supermoon, when the moon appears slightly bigger and brighter due to its proximity to the Earth.
Last night’s moon passed more than 220,000 miles away at its fullest.
However the Associated Press reported the reddish hue expected last night appeared more of a “smudgy burnt orange color” for many viewers around the world.
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Still, NASA’s Noah Petro, project scientist for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, told the Associated Press this week that “Hawaii has the best seat in the house.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.