Total lunar eclipse may cause tides to be higher than normal |28 September 2015

A total lunar eclipse will share the stage with a so-called “supermoon” today, Monday September 28 at 06.11am Seychelles time.

The full eclipse of the moon will last more than an hour and be visible, weather permitting, from North and South America, Europe, Africa and western Asia.

Since the tidal range would be higher than that seen during the normal spring tides, as a result Seychelles ‘high tide’ may be higher than normal in connection with this event.

On average at this time of the year, the highest high tide is 1.8metres but as from today until October 1, 2015 the observing high tide may rise by 40 centimetres, bringing the highest ‘high tide’ during this period to 2.2 metres.

This may cause some splashing of waves on the roads along the coast.

Motorists are therefore advised to take extra precaution when driving along the coast.

A total lunar eclipse occurs when the moon, earth and sun line up, with the earth's shadow totally obscuring the moon.

That combination has not been seen since 1982 and won't happen again until 2033.

When a full or new moon makes its closest approach to earth, that is called a supermoon. Although still about 220,000 miles away, this full moon will look bigger and brighter than usual. In fact, it will be the closest full moon of the year, about 30,000 miles closer than the average distance. (The moon's orbit is far from a perfect circle.)