Total Lunar Eclipse Sunday Night

A total lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes in the earth’s shadow and is hidden from the sun. The moon isn’t lit up at this time due to the Sun, Earth, and Moon being in complete alignment. What is special about this Lunar Eclipse on Sunday evening, is it will be under a Harvest moon. At this time, the moon is in “perigee” or closest and nearest point in orbit to earth. Therefore, it will appear larger. Because it will be closer to earth, some light from the sun will pass through earth’s atmosphere, and the light will be bent scattering longer red wavelengths, giving the moon an appearance of an orange or reddish tint. This is the same effect why we see reds and oranges during a sunset. The partial lunar eclipse will begin at 8:40PM, and with total lunar eclipse will begin at 9:11 PM. We won’t get to see another total lunar eclipse during a harvest moon or “supermoon” total lunar eclipse for another 18 years