Supermoon Eclipse: How And When To See It

A few days back when mentioned that after 33 years we are about to witness another supermoon eclipse. Astronomers professional and amateur alike are looking forward to this rare event and if you want to check it out for yourself, here is when and how you can check it out.

Sky watchers in North and South America, Europe, Africa, western Asia, and the eastern Pacific Ocean region will have the chance to see the eclipse on September 27 or 28, 2015 depending on your location. That is on a Sunday night in the US. The supermoon will begin to dim slightly at 8:11 p.m. EDT on September 27 according to NASA officials.

The total lunar eclipse will start at 10:11 p.m. EDT and will last 72 minutes. If you missed our prior coverage of the supermoon eclipse, you may be wondering just what we are on about. A supermoon occurs when we have a full moon at the perigee of the moon's elliptical orbit around the Earth.

At the perigee, or closest point the moon comes to the Earth in its orbit, the moon is about 31,000 miles closer making it look brighter and larger than normal. It's rare for a total lunar eclipse to occur simultaneously with a supermoon.

A supermoon looks about 14% larger and 30% brighter in the sky than apogee full moons, or full moons at the moon's most distant point from the Earth. You will be able to see the eclipse with your naked eyes in most areas, weather permitting.

SOURCE: Space.com