Celestial events and stargazing fans are in for a treat on Sept. 27 when a lunar eclipse coincides with a supermoon. Such a rare event last happened in 1982.
According to MassLive, the event will trigger one of the biggest bloodmoons – so called because of the reddish tint the celestial body gets during an eclipse – as the full moon will be in its closest proximity to the autumnal equinox. As such, and if the weather permits, the supermoon eclipse will be visible to most of North and South America, as well as across Europe, West Asia, and certain parts of the African continent.
According to Fox News, the eclipse will begin with a penumbral eclipse at around 8:11 p.m. EDT on Sunday, Sept. 27, to be followed by a partial eclipse at 9:07 p.m. The total eclipse will begin at 10:11 p.m. EDT and will be at its greatest at 10:47 p.m. It will then subside by 11:23 p.m. and will be over by 1:22 a.m. EDT on Monday, Sept. 28.
Weather will of course play a big role in the visibility of the upcoming lunar eclipse. Observers and stargazers who would like to see the supermoon in all its glory will need to find a place not cloudy and where there will be almost no light and fog.
If such an area is available, observers can choose to stay indoors and see tune in to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center's live coverage of the event via its UStream channel. The livestream will begin at 8 p.m. EDT on Sunday, with live feed from the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. Magazine Sky & Telescope will also have webcast (shown below), which will start at 9 p.m. EDT.
