World waits to see supermoon eclipse tonight

People in North, Central and South America will be able to see the total lunar eclipse Sunday night. And it won’t happen again until 2033.

“It’s one of the best astronomical events to witness without any equipment and we know exactly when it’s going to happen”, AccuWeather MeteorologistDave Samuhel says.

“Thicker cloud and the chance of some rain in the far northwest of Scotland and the western coast of the Republic of Ireland may prevent a good view in these areas”.

When will it happen, and how long will it last? Nasa explains Supermoon Lunar Eclipse in the video below.

This time of year, the moon is at a position in its orbit around Earth where it is as close to our planet as it comes on its trajectory.

When was the last Supermoon + Lunar Eclipse?

“It just appears slightly bigger in the sky”, planetary geologist Noah Petro, with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, said. “Since the moon will become faint, we can look at the rest of the Universe in a way you normally cannot do with the full moon in the sky”. Before the event, the link has a photo of the lunar eclipse from April 15, 2014.

Many stargazers, professional and amateur alike, don’t like the term “supermoon“, noting that the visible difference between a moon and supermoon is slight to all but the most faithful observers. In addition to being a traditional “harvest moon”, the moon will be at its closest point to Earth in its orbit, making it a so-called “supermoon”. A lunar eclipse is set to occur this weekend, which will bathe the Moon in a red glow. This Sunday that process will be complicated. This essentially means the Moon is entirely in Earth’s shadow.

If you cannot get to a spot with a moon view, or prefer not to spend nearly five hours outside tonight, you can watch the full lunar event here via live stream. Luckily that nickname isn’t a sign of things to come.