There will be a total lunar eclipse this Sunday. Cool! But THIS one is a bit special, being dubbed a "Super Blood Wolf Moon". What? What's that???

Full moon
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When do we get to see this Super Blood Wolf Moon eclipse?

According to Rice University astrophysicist Patrick Hartigan who spoke with the AP:

The whole eclipse starts Sunday night or early Monday, depending on location , and will take about three hours.

It begins with the partial phase around 10:34 p.m. EST Sunday. That’s when Earth’s shadow will begin to nip at the moon. Totality — when Earth’s shadow completely blankets the moon — will last 62 minutes, beginning at 11:41 p.m. EST Sunday.

This long name breaks down as follows:

SUPER: This just means that the moon is pretty close to the Earth right now, which will make for a bigger "canvas" on which to see the lunar eclipse.

BLOOD: When visible, the moon will indeed appear reddish...hence being called a "blood moon".

The phenomenon whereby the moon in total eclipse appears reddish in color as it is illuminated by sunlight filtered and refracted by the earth's atmosphere.

WOLF: This term comes from this full moon happening in January. It's winter, so traditionally, the "howling of wolves" could be heard during the January full moon.

This is going to be the only total lunar eclipse in 2019 and none are happening in 2020. In areas with no cloud cover, it's supposed to be a good one!

 

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