Astronomers are gearing up to spot a rare phenomenon, as a lunar eclipse coincides with a so-called “supermoon”.
A supermoon occurs when the Moon is in the closest part of its orbit to Earth, meaning it appears larger in the sky.
The eclipse – expected to make the Moon appear red in colour – will be visible in North America, South America, West Africa and western Europe.
Nasa claims a supermoon last coincided with a lunar eclipse in 1982 and is not expected to again until 2033.
But the definition of a supermoon is debated among astronomers.
Skywatchers in the western half of North America, the rest of Europe and Africa, the Middle East and South Asia will see a partial eclipse.
From the UK, observers will see the Moon pass through the Earth’s shadow in the early hours of Monday morning. In North and South America the eclipse will be seen on Sunday evening.
Eclipse facts
- The supermoon, where Earth’s satellite is near its minimum distance from our planet, means that the Moon will appear 7-8% larger in the sky.
- The moon may look rust-coloured during a total lunar eclipse – giving rise to its nickname Blood Moon. This is because the Earth’s atmosphere scatters blue light more strongly than red light, and it is this red light that reaches the lunar surface
- During the eclipse, the Moon lies in front of the stars of the constellation Pisces
| Eclipse contact points (see map) | Time (UTC) |
|---|---|
| P1 | 00:11:47 |
| U1 | 01:07:11 |
| U2 | 02:11:10 |
| Greatest | 02:47:07 |
| U3 | 03:23:05 |
| U4 | 04:27:03 |
| P4 | 05:22:27 |
In a total lunar eclipse, the Earth, Sun and Moon are almost exactly in line and the Moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun.
As the full Moon moves into our planet’s shadow, it dims dramatically but usually remains visible, lit by sunlight that passes through the Earth’s atmosphere.
As this light travels through our planet’s gaseous envelope, the green to violet portions get filtered out more than the red portion, with the result that light reaching the lunar surface is predominantly red in colour.
Observers on Earth may see a Moon that is brick-coloured, rusty, blood red or sometimes dark grey, depending on terrestrial conditions.
Dr Robert Massey, deputy executive director of the UK’s Royal Astronomical Society, told BBC News that the eclipse is an “incredibly beautiful event”.
A supermoon occurs when a full or new moon coincides with a Moon that is nearing its minimum distance (perigee) to Earth.
The Moon takes an elliptical orbit around Earth, which means that its average distance changes from as far as 405,000km (its apogee) to as close as 363,000km at the perigee.
The coincidence between a supermoon and an eclipse means that Earth’s lone companion is expected to look 7-8% bigger. But Dr Massey added: “The definition of ‘supermoon’ is slightly problematic.
“Is a supermoon taking place at the perigee, the day before, the day after? Does a supermoon have to be a particularly close perigee, or can it be a bit further out? It’s not very well defined.”
He said a supermoon was to some extent a moveable feast compared with an eclipse, where the timing can be measured precisely.
As a result, Dr Massey explained, claims of the extreme rarity of a supermoon coinciding with an eclipse were overstated.
The supermoon should also not be confused with the Moon Illusion, which causes the Moon to appear larger near the horizon than it does higher up in the sky.
The eclipse will begin at 02:11 GMT, when the Moon enters the lightest part of the Earth’s shadow, known as the penumbra, and adopts a yellowish colour. At 04:11, the Moon completely enters the umbra – the inner dark corpus of our planet’s shadow.
The point of greatest eclipse occurs at 04:47, when the Moon is closest to the centre of the umbra. The show will be over by 06:22 in the morning on Monday.
The Royal Astronomical Society says that unlike the solar equivalent, a total lunar eclipse event is safe to watch and needs no special equipment.
I was visiting Henry & Laura for the first one, my brother in WA for the second, and now in Sweet Home for the last two. I didn’t want to be in that sh#thole L.A. for ANY of them, and wasn’t.
Hope they weren’t saving it all up for this last one. But if so, I’m better prepared than I’ve ever been.
Managed to catch part of the eclipse part. Obviously I can’t see any red due to the chemtrails blurring out most of the moon tonight. Typical. The bastards just won’t let you see it. I talked to a few of the people at the park tonight who were trying to photograph the event who knew about the blood moons and so on, yet were complaining about the clouds blocking it. So when I mentioned how the bastards who were spraying the chemtrails in the sky and won’t let us see the event, it was like I wasn’t even there anymore or they didn’t even want to hear me. All conversations ceased. I can’t believe how clueless people are when it comes to chemtrails. It’s right in their face, for cryin’ out loud.
It hasn’t happen here yet NC. I got about an hour before it’s due to begin here in Wisconsin. How does that work?
Starting to come in here in NW Ks. 8:38. Don’t think I will be awake when it comes fully in.
Actually, the chemtrails finally moved out of the way and it’s a clear sky now. Saw the blood moon come over the moon and now it is currently still red and has been holding for a good 20 minutes so far. Kinda freaky. Unable to take a good picture of it though. My camera sucks.
It’s almost full eclipse here. It’s getting awful dark out there right now. I’m fortunate to have fairly clear skies tonight.
It’s about 90%+ eclipsed here now. Got a clear view.
“Forecast for tonight – Dark!” (Carlin)
It swung back the other direction. It’s getting brighter again.
Yep. Same here.
Cloud cover here all night. Didn’t see anything but a high probability of rain.