31日月全食奇观将现身天宇，我国绝大部分地区可赏“蓝月亮”

A cosmic event not seen in 36 years -- a rare "super blood blue moon" -- may be glimpsed January 31 in parts of western North America, Asia, the Middle East, Russia and Australia.

本月31日，部分国家和地区的夜空中将出现36年难得一见的天文景象“超级血月逢蓝月”，在北美西部、亚洲、中东、俄罗斯和澳大利亚部分地区，都有机会一睹奇观。

The event is causing a buzz because it combines three unusual lunar events -- an extra big super moon, a blue moon and a total lunar eclipse.

这一月全食事件引起了广大的轰动，因为“超级血月逢蓝月”是“超级月亮”、“蓝月”以及“月全食”这三种罕见天文现象的“合体”。

It’s an astronomical trifecta, said Kelly Beatty, a senior editor at Sky and Telescope magazine.

《天空和望远镜》杂志的资深编辑凯莉.贝蒂说:“这是一种天文现象。”

A blue moon refers to the second full moon in a month. Typically, a blue moon happens every two years and eight months.

“蓝月”指的是一个月内第二次满月，通常每两年又八个月会出现一次。

This full moon is also the third in a series of "supermoons," which happen when the moon is closest to Earth in its orbit. This point, called the perigee, makes the moon appear 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter.

除了“蓝月”，此次也将是近来第三次出现“超级月亮”。当月亮运行到近地点时刚好满月，月球看起来会比平常大14%，亮度增加30%，这便是“超级月亮”。

During the eclipse, the moon will glide into Earth’s shadow, gradually turning the white disk of light to orange or red.

在月食期间，月亮将滑入地球的阴影中，逐渐将白色的光圈变成橙色或红色。

That red light you see is sunlight that has skimmed and bent through Earth’s atmosphere and continued on through space to the moon, said Alan MacRobert of Sky and Telescope magazine.

《天空和望远镜》杂志的艾伦.麦克罗伯特说:“你所看到的红光是阳光掠过地球的大气层发生弯曲后在月球表面传递的现象。”

The alignment of the sun, moon and Earth will last one hour and 16 minutes, visible before dawn across the western United States and Canada.

太阳、月球和地球的三点一线排列将持续1小时16分钟，在美国西部和加拿大的黎明前都能看到。

Those in the Middle East, Asia, eastern Russia, Australia and New Zealand should look for it in the evening, as the moon rises.

在中东、亚洲、俄罗斯东部、澳大利亚和新西兰，在晚上月亮升起的时候也可以看到这一奇观。

Unlike a solar eclipse, this lunar eclipse can be safely viewed without protective eyewear.

与日蚀不同的是，这次月食可以在没有护目镜的情况下安全地观看。

How rare?

这次月全食有多罕见?

We’ve had a lot of supermoons and we’ve had lunar eclipses, but it’s rare that it also happens to be a blue moon, said Jason Aufdenberg, associate professor of physics and astronomy at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s campus in Daytona Beach, Florida.

“我们有过很多次超级月亮，我们也有过月食，但很罕见的是，这次又恰巧遇逢蓝月，”位于佛罗里达州代托纳海滩的Embry-Riddle航空大学的物理学和天文学副教授杰森.奥芬伯格说。

All three of these cycles lining up is what makes this unusual, he added.

他补充说:“三个周期恰巧交于一点形成了这种现象。”

According to Sky and Telescope magazine, "the last time a complete lunar cover-up took place on the second full moon of the month was December 30, 1982, at least as reckoned by local time in Europe, Africa, and western Asia -- locations where the event could be seen."

根据《天空和望远镜》杂志的报道，“最后一次发生的这种满月现象是在1982年12月30日，至少是在欧洲、非洲和西亚地区的当地时间，当时在这些地方可以看到这一奇迹的发生”

That event also occurred at the moon’s orbital perigee, making it an extra bright supermoon.

那次事件也发生在月球轨道近地点，形成了额外明亮的超级月亮。

Lunar eclipses occur at least twice a year.

月食每年至少发生两次。

Supermoons can happen four to six times a year.

超级月亮每年会发生四到六次。

The next supermoon lunar eclipse visible throughout all of the United States will be January 21, 2019 -- though that one will not be a blue moon.

下一次在美国各地可见的超级月亮月食将在2019年1月21日-尽管那次不会形成“蓝月”。