What It Was Like To See The Super Blood Moon At 40,000 Feet
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Not the plane I was on, but what a cracker shot. Image: Getty
This week Australia was blessed with a particularly beautiful view of the super blood moon. I was lucky enough to spy it from a plane flying at 40,000 feet. But what was that actually like?
A super blood moon is a rare occurrence. It’s the combination of a super moon, where the moon is particularly close to the earth, and a full lunar eclipse. It’s so rare that we won’t see another one for 12 years.
Angus Watson and Francesca Street, CNN • Published 27th May 2021
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Sydney (CNN) The moon was illuminated a bright coppery red, big and beaming in the night sky.
And as people on the ground in Australia and New Zealand and parts of the western United States peered up to admire this rare super blood moon eclipse on May 26, perhaps the best view of the astronomical marvel came from 43,000 feet in the sky on board a Qantas-operated flight to nowhere.
Crisscrossing the skies above Sydney harbor for three hours, 180 travelers enjoyed a front row seat for this spectacular lunar event.
Fly me to the supermoon : Airline brings guests close to spectacle Published: 11:05 PM, May 27, 2021
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SYDNEY: The Australian airline Quantas flew 180 people to the moon - or close enough: A Boeing 787 Dreamliner took off from Sydney on Wednesday night to watch the supermoon over the Pacific Ocean.
In Australia, the supermoon was especially spectacular because a total lunar eclipse was also taking place, creating a reddish bloodmoon that could be viewed from the plane s windows.
The last time this spectacle in the sky could be seen in Australia was 2001, and the next date is not until 2033, according to astronomer Vanessa Moss, who helped pilots with the optimal flightpath, according to Australian media outlets.