Total Lunar Eclipse of Supermoon on Sunday night

On the night of September 27–28, the full Moon will slide completely through Earth's shadow for the last time until January 2018.

The total eclipse for viewers in the West Coast starts at 7:11 p.m. By 7:47 p.m. it will be in mid-eclipse and it ends at 8:23 p.m. The penumbra is last visible at 9:55 p.m.

If your skies are clear after the Sun sets on Sunday, September 27th, be sure to head outside to see the total lunar eclipse that happens that night. This will mark the end of a "tetrad" of four total lunar eclipses spaced a half year apart that began back in early 2014. But, perhaps more importantly, it's the last one visible anywhere until 2018.

Unlike the lunar eclipse last April 4th, which might not even have been precisely total, this one will carry the Moon through the umbra — the dark core of Earth's shadow — for 1 hour and 12 minutes. Moreover, it's a big eclipsed Moon! The closest lunar perigee of 2015 occurs just 59 minutes before mid-eclipse. The Moon (in Pisces) will appear 13% larger in diameter than it did when eclipsed last April. That's not enough for anyone but a devoted Moon watcher to really notice, but for a spectacle like a lunar eclipse, every little bit helps.

Observers in the eastern half of North America can watch every stage of the eclipse, from beginning to end of the partial phases (31⁄3 hours in all) during convenient hours of late twilight or darkness with the Moon mostly high in the sky. If you're in the Far West, the first partial stage of the eclipse is already in progress when the Moon rises (due east) around the time of sunset. Those in Europe and Africa see the eclipse on the local morning of the 28th.

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