Super Blood Moon Makes Appearance

The Moon

by Keith Fisher

Have you ever looked up at the night sky and thought, “Wow. The moon is freaking huge.”? Tonight will be a special treat.

Tonight marks a rare occasion as the Sun, Earth, and Moon align in a way that will cause the Earth’s shadow to blanket the moon.

This is called a Lunar Eclipse. These happen twice per year and are viewable from large parts of the globe.

What makes this night so special is that the Moon will also be at its closest orbit to Earth or perigee, a mere 277,000 miles away. The moon will drift around 31,000 miles closer to Earth in its Lunar orbit.

When you combine both the “Super” Moon and the Total Lunar Eclipse on the same night you’re bound to see something extraordinary.

The first part of the Eclipse (where the Moon begins to enter the Earth’s shadow or Penumbra) is set to begin at 7:11PM Central Time. The moon will be just a few shades darker than normal at this point.

The second phase of the Eclipse (where the Moon begins to enter the Earth’s darker shadow, or Umbra) is set to begin at 8:07PM Central Time. During this time you’ll be able to see a stark difference in the Moon’s glow from earlier in the evening.

At this point you should be experiencing some neck pain from constantly staring upwards at the Moon.

Around 9:11PM Central Time the highlight of the show begins. Total Lunar Eclipse. (Words omitted: of the Heart).

The Total Lunar Eclipse will last for about one hour and 12 minutes.

The last time this happened, it was 33 years ago in 1982. The next one won’t occur again until 2033. If you get the opportunity to witness this event, Osky News and others will be out at the Lacey Complex during these times to capture this moment in the sky.