Total lunar eclipse rolled into one, visible tomorrow

According to EarthSky.org, it’s the first blue moon total lunar eclipse in the US since March 1866.

However, if you miss the lunar eclipse, then you will have to wait for one year as the next lunar eclipse will happen on 21st January 2019. The earth will be directly between the sun and the moon early Wednesday morning.

It’s called a “super blue blood moon” – the combination of three not-so-unusual lunar events (a blue moon, a supermoon and a blood moon, otherwise known as a lunar eclipse). For us, the moon will set at 6:44, and the show will be over as the moon sinks below the horizon 80% eclipsed. No it won’t actually be blue that’s just the term for a second full moon in a month.

The Griffith Observatory will be opening its grounds at 3:45 a.m. Wednesday for dedicated sky-gazers.

Partial eclipse begins 2:48 a.m. “For East Coast viewers, the moon will enter the outer part of the earth’s shadow at 5:51 a.m., but it won’t be all that noticeable”. Too many trees, hills and bluffs across the region makes it hard to find a clear view of the western horizon.

To see how the eclipse will play out where you are, check out this site. Finally, a blood moon is a total eclipse that gives the moon a red hue as the sun’s light travels through our atmosphere.

Thus after a gap of 150 years, blue moon, blood moon and super moon are set to occur on the same time.

A supermoon is when the moon becomes full on the same day it reaches its perigee – or the point the moon is closest to the Earth. The “super blue blood moon” is a trifecta of astronomical events wrapped into one pre-dawn sky. This occurs every two and a half years.

So what’s so special about this moon, and when will you get to see it? “It’s the exact same effect you get when you have a red sunset”, said Curt Spivey with the Ward Beecher Planetarium. He said that the lunar eclipse will last for 1 hour and 16 minutes in India.

6 a.m. – The surface of the moon will start to take on a yellowish appearance.