All right sky watchers! This is a big weekend to be staring at the universe. Actually, if you are located in North and South America, anywhere in the the Atlantic Ocean, Europe, Africa, Greenland, and the Middle East (sorry Asia and Australia!) you will have a great view of the total eclipse of the moon.
Now pay attention: If you live in the Americas (north or south), the eclipse occurs after sunset on are in a good position worldwide to watch the total eclipse of the moon. If you live in the Americas, the total eclipse happens after sunset on Sunday, September 27, 2015. Everywhere else will have the view of the total eclipse after midnight/before sunrise on Monday, September 28, 2015.
This total eclipse is during the Harvest Moon. You may have heard it referenced as a Blood Moon, which is the full moon nearest to the Autumn equinox. According to NASA, lunar eclipses occur about twice a year. On this occasion, it will be our fourth! The fact that all four lunar eclipses were observed in the Americas also makes this year unique.
Here’s another fascinating tidbit. This is the eighth tetrad (four lunar eclipses) in the 21st century. Sounds like a lot, right? It is. Considering there were no tetrads at all for three hundred years (between 1600 an 1900).
If you are a sky watcher and the weather is clear, please look to the sky and watch this magnificent event on Sunday.
here is a total eclipse of the moon on the night of September 27-28, 2015. It happens to be the closest supermoon of 2015. It’s the Northern Hemisphere’s Harvest Moon, or full moon nearest the September equinox. It’s the Southern Hemisphere’s first full moon of spring. This September full moon is also called a Blood Moon, because it presents the fourth and final eclipse of a lunar tetrad: four straight total eclipses of the moon, spaced at six lunar months (full moons) apart. Phew!