‘Blood moon’ coming Sunday

The total lunar eclipse taking place Sunday night will coincide with a supermoon, the first time this has happened since 1982.

So you can imagine, that the two lining up only occurs every so often, so this weekend’s show will be one to remember!

Penn State Wilkes-Barre will hold the Supermoon Total Eclipse Party on Sunday night at the Friedman Observatory on the Lehman Township campus.

The forecasters aren’t too optimistic it will be clear enough to see here in West Michigan. “A noticeable shadow will begin to fall on the moon at 9:07 p.m., and the total eclipse will start at 10:11 p.m”.

September 27, 2015, marks a special date in the astronomy world, a super lunar eclipse!

The last time this happened?

This is also a supermoon-a full moon (or new moon) closest to Earth-that will make the sight even more spectacular, because the full moon will appear to be 14 percent larger than usual.

A lunar eclipse, creating a red hue that is referred to as a “blood moon”.

When the eclipse is at its maximum, the moon will be just above the tree tops. To tack on a third title, it will also be considered a harvest moon!

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. A lunar eclipse happens when the moon passes behind Earth’s shadow, making the moon appear dark. This eerie – but harmless – effect has earned the phenomenon the nickname “blood moon”.

NASA is putting out a live stream of the eclipse on its website Sunday night and you can ask questions about what you’re seeing on Twitter at #asknasa.

Professor Young says whether the moon will turn blood red during that eclipse is yet to be seen.