This Sunday, enjoy the total eclipse of a stunning Harvest Moon

Photo Courtesy: Scienceworldreport.com

By Claire Lewis

On Sun., Sept. 27, an extraordinary thing will happen in the night sky.  The moon will orbit at its closest proximity to the Earth, which will make it appear about 14 percent larger and about and 30 percent brighter than your average moon.  This gorgeous Harvest Moon occurs during the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox (that happened this week – which you probably noticed when the weather instantly turned cool and crisp…no?).

According to scienceworldreport.com, this Sunday’s moon is also known as a Blood Moon.  This particular moon offers up the fourth and final eclipse of a lunar “tetrad,” fancy science talk for four straight total eclipses of the moon, which are spaced at six lunar months (full moons) apart.  Not to spoil the drama, but Earth’s shadow on this Supermoon creates the appearance of a beautiful, copper-colored transformation, which makes it seem like something amazing is happening in space – and it is!

Not to get all Biblical on you – well maybe just a little – but in the book of Acts, Chapter 2, Verse 20, it says: “The sun will become dark, and the moon will turn blood red before that great and glorious day of the Lord arrives.”  Whether or not this trumpets the second coming remains to be seen.

In the meantime, this is a rare occurrence that can be seen with the naked eye (although a telescope will definitely bump up the WOW factor).

Our North American best view can be seen after sunset this coming Sunday.  Earthsky.org offers these approximate times for the show to begin:

• Pacific Daylight Time
• Total Eclipse Begins: 7:11 p.m.
• Greatest Eclipse: 7:47 p.m.
• Total Eclipse Ends: 8:23 p.m.
• Partial Eclipse Ends: 9:27 p.m.

Scientists say that it’s been 30 years since this has happened, and we will not see another event like this until 2033, so why not make it a family fun night?  Grab some blankets or chairs, bring some snacks (Moon Pies, anyone?), and plant yourselves in your yard or a nice park, look up, and enjoy the show!