The lunar eclipse tonight is expected to be visible across the United States, weather permitting, and coincides with the closest full moon of the year, creating a Supermoon and a Harvest moon.
Authorities classify this event as a deep partial lunar eclipse, a designation used by NASA to describe the geometry of the shadowing.
Space.com reports the moon will begin entering Earth’s shadow at 9:23 p.m. ET, with the partial eclipse starting at 10:33 p.m. ET.
Observers will see the eclipse reach its deepest phase simultaneously worldwide, according to Catherine Pilachowski, professor and Kirkwood Chair in astronomy at Indiana University Bloomington.
Timing Visibility And Global Audience
For Eastern viewers the eclipse is expected to be darkest at 12:12 a.m. ET, Pilachowski says. Central viewers should expect the deepest phase at 11:12 p.m. CT.
Mountain viewers can look for the peak at 10:12 p.m. MT, and Pacific viewers at 9:12 p.m. PT, Pilachowski adds. Space.com lists the partial eclipse ending just before 2 a.m. ET and the event concluding at 3 a.m. ET.
TimeandDate estimates almost 1 billion people will see the entire eclipse from beginning to end. The outlet also reports that roughly 44 percent of the world’s population, about 3 billion people, will be able to see at least some of the eclipse.
Across the Midwest, forecasts call for partly to mostly cloudy skies during the eclipse, but breaks in the cloud cover could allow partial views, according to local forecasts displayed in regional coverage.
NASA describes the moon’s appearance during deep partial eclipses as dramatically darkened with a rusty, coppery tint along the covered edge. Pilachowski explains that Earth’s atmosphere scatters sunlight toward the moon, producing the reddish hue that gives eclipses the informal label blood moons.
Pilachowski also notes that about 96 percent of the moon will pass into Earth’s shadow while roughly 4 percent continues to receive direct sunlight. She adds that no special eye protection is needed to view the event, and clear weather is the only viewing requirement.
