Coincidently, the eclipse will occur during a supermoon, when the moon is closer to earth than at any other time of year.
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Skies are expected to be mostly clear Sunday night in the Sacramento region when a supermoon and total lunar eclipse both happen on the same night.
It’s also no cause for concern, despite the ancient Incans and Mesopotamians believing the moon to be under attack during a lunar eclipse. The eclipse begins at 10:11 p.m. EDT, lasting for one hour and 12 minutes. This lunar event can make the orb appear 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than a typical moon, according to NASA. NASA will also be livestreaming the eclipse from several observatories across the US, if the weather isn’t cooperating in your area.
It will then appear with a red tint, known as a blood Moon, as only red light reaches it, a phenomenon which is common during a total lunar eclipse.
The Moon travels to a similar position every month, but the tilt of its orbit means it normally passes above or below the Earth’s shadow – so most months have a full moon minus eclipse. Quite the opposite-this week’s event will be the last in this rare tetrad, and the most dramatic. Earth’s shadow will begin to dim the supermoon slightly beginning at 8:11 p.m., according to NASA. Though no sunlight will fall directly on the moon, its surface will be illuminated by light rays that refract through Earth’s atmosphere. A supermoon can appear up to 30 per cent brighter than at the earth-moon apogee (when the two bodies are furthest from one another). Unlike a solar eclipse, Tim says it’s OK to look directly at the moon.
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Millions of people in the western world will be able to observe the eclipse, which visible in Europe, North and South America, Africa, parts of West Asia and the eastern Pacific.
