Sunday night, before the kids have to go to bed, they’ll have the chance at seeing a rare occurrence:  A Supermoon in conjunction with a total lunar eclipse!  Get outside and see if you can see it!

Full Lunar Eclipse Visible As Moon Aligns Into Earth's Shadow
David McNew, Getty Images
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Every now and then, the moon drifts closer to the Earth with its orbit- that’s called a ‘Supermoon.’ It often looks 14% larger than normal!   We’ll have a Supermoon on Sunday night (Sept 17, 2015.) Also Sunday night, will be a total lunar eclipse- where the Earth comes in between the full moon and the sun.

This is actually THREE things happening at the same time- The FULL moon, the moon being closer to the Earth, and the total lunar eclipse. It’s a science trifecta!

In addition, just enough of the sun will be exposed around the Earth, to cast a red ‘shadow’ on the moon—that’s called a ‘Blood Moon.’ Fun!  Some are calling this a ‘Mega Harvest Moon Eclipse’ as well.

A total lunar eclipse in conjunction with a Supermoon hasn’t happened since 1982!

This all goes down at around 10:11 p.m. EST on Sunday night.  The east coast of the U.S. will have the best opportunity to see this happen, it sounds like. For us here in the west, and Northern Colorado, we’ll be able to see the beginning stages of the eclipse.

From USA Today:

In the West, the first partial stage of the eclipse will already be in progress when the moon rises in the east around sunset

Since this is a LUNAR eclipse, there’s no fear of damaging your eyes by looking at it. So, if you do see it—stare at it and marvel and the wild happenings of this crazy universe!  And get some photos!

The Slooh Community Observatory will be streaming the event! If anything, gather round the world-wide-web and catch this rare event!

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