Rare supermoon lunar eclipse coming this weekend

Unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses aren’t risky to look at, so you’ll just need your eyeballs and a clear view of the sky to enjoy it.

According to NASA there have been five Supermoon events since 1900 (in 1910, 1928, 1946, 1964 and 1982) and the sixth will occur on Sunday.

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 total eclipse will last one hour and 12 minutes, and will be visible to North and South America, Europe, Africa, and parts of West Asia and the eastern Pacific.

“It will be the moon’s closest distance to our planet during its elliptical orbit – what scientists call a perigee moon”, said Allen.

This happens because the moon doesn’t orbit the Earth in a flawless circle – it moves in an ellipse.

Although a supermoon isn’t technically larger than a normal moon, it appears about 14% larger and 30% brighter than usual, NASA says. As the process occurs, the Moon will often turn a deep shade of orange, or even red, due to the bending of sunlight passing through Earth’s atmosphere on its way to the Moon.

The next supermoon eclipse won’t happen until 2033.

Mr Lee, who is a member of the Huddersfield Astronomical Society, said: “After this event, there won’t be another total lunar eclipse to be seen anywhere in the world until 2018”. “We’ll be able to see the darkness of the Earth’s shadow creeping up the moon as it rises in the sky”.

Many stargazers, both professional and amateur, do not like the term “supermoon“, noting the visible difference between a moon and supermoon is slight to all but the most faithful observers.

He said the best time to start watching is about 6:50 p.m. when much of the moon will already be dark.