LOOK UP: Supermoon Eclipse Over Long Island Begins Shortly

BY PATCH STAFF

On Sunday night people all across the United States will be treated to a sight that hasn’t been seen since 1982—the supermoon lunar eclipse.

A result of two rare astronomical events occurring at the same time, a visibly larger, and red-colored moon will appear in the sky. The supermoon lunar eclipse won’t occur again until 2033, so you won’t want to miss it.

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

Viewing conditions in New York, however, will be less than ideal with mostly cloudy skies in the forecast Sunday night.

“But these clouds for the most part are not opaque, so the moon might still be visible even when clouds are passing in front of it,” according to SPACE.com.

Here are five answers to questions you may have about the rare phenomenon:

• When will it happen, and how long will it last?

The lunar eclipse will last one hour and 11 minutes, according to NASA. A partial eclipse will begin at about 9:07 p.m. in New York, when the earth will start casting its shadow on the moon. The total eclipse won’t start until 10:11 p.m., and is expected to peak at 10:47 p.m.

• How does one watch the supermoon lunar eclipse?

The answer for most people is simple: Go outside and look up. However, if you live in an area experiencing cloudy weather, you don’t need to worry. NASA will be streaming the event from Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The stream will go live at 8 p.m. EDT and last until at least 11:30 p.m.

• Why will the moon look bigger?

A supermoon is the result of the fact that the moon does not orbit around the earth in a perfect circle. It’s more of an oval, and at certain times the moon is closer to the earth. When a full moon passes by the earth at the closest point in its orbit, it appears 14 percent larger in the sky.

• Why will the moon look red?

The moon doesn’t create any of its own light. When there’s no lunar eclipse, the moon reflects light from the sun. This Sunday that process will be complicated. The Earth is going to position itself between the moon and the sun, casting its shadow on the moon. Sunlight can still reach the moon, but it will have to bend around the earth. While that happens, almost every color but red is “filtered” out of the light, giving the moon its red appearance.

• What is the ‘Blood Moon?’

Because of its red color, you may have heard the supermoon lunar eclipse referred to as a blood moon. Luckily that nickname isn’t a sign of things to come. However a belief that the blood moon means the coming of the apocalypse was popularized by John Hagee, a Christian minister from Texas, according to a CNN article. Hagee wrote “Four Blood Moons,” in which he claimed that a sequence of four lunar eclipses — with Sunday’s being the final one — is a sign from God that a “world-shaking event will happen between April and October 2015.” Scientists quickly proved Hagee’s theory as false. As you’ll see Sunday, the lunar eclipses are harmless.