{"id":19605,"date":"2015-09-25T23:09:42","date_gmt":"2015-09-25T15:09:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/supermoon-sunday-how-to-make-the-most-of-the-total-lunar-eclipse\/"},"modified":"2015-09-25T23:09:42","modified_gmt":"2015-09-25T15:09:42","slug":"supermoon-sunday-how-to-make-the-most-of-the-total-lunar-eclipse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/supermoon-sunday-how-to-make-the-most-of-the-total-lunar-eclipse\/","title":{"rendered":"Supermoon Sunday! How to make the most of the total lunar eclipse"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_201510\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-201510\" style=\"width: 660px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-201510\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/150925-moon.jpg\" alt=\"Seattle lunar eclipse\" width=\"660\" height=\"420\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/150925-moon.jpg 660w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/150925-moon-620x395.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-201510\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A total lunar eclipse shines dully over Seattle\u2019s Space Needle in 2008. (Credit: Clane Gessel)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Sunday\u2019s super-sized total lunar eclipse is special for a couple of reasons, but it\u2019s extra-special for places like Seattle, where the timing is perfect for family viewing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI love it when these astronomical events are at a good time,\u201d said Alice Enevoldsen, an astronomy educator whose home base is in West Seattle. \u201cIt\u2019s in the evening \u2026 but not yet bedtime for little kids.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lunar eclipses are among the most accessible astronomical events out there: When Earth casts its shadow on the full moon\u2019s disk, half the world can watch it&nbsp;\u2014 and the show usually lasts for an hour or more, in contrast to the mere minutes of duration for a total solar eclipse. (Check out this interactive&nbsp;feature&nbsp;to learn more about lunar eclipses.)<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"NASA | Supermoon Lunar Eclipse\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vKAw_wrIr5s?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-width=\"800\" data-height=\"450\" style=\"display: block; margin: 0px; width: 800px; height: 450px;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>This eclipse is making headlines&nbsp;in part because it takes place when the full moon\u2019s apparent size is at its maximum for&nbsp;the&nbsp;year&nbsp;\u2014 a so-called supermoon. Supermoons are about 7 percent bigger and 16 percent brighter than the average full moon. NASA says the most recent supermoon lunar eclipse was in 1982, and the next time will be in 2033. (However, depending on your definition of&nbsp;a \u201csupermoon,\u201d such an eclipse came in 1997 and is due in 2021 as well.)<\/p>\n<p>For Seattleites, Sunday\u2019s&nbsp;show begins with moonrise at 6:54 p.m. PT, when the eclipse\u2019s partial phase is already well underway. If you\u2019re lucky, you can catch the show\u2019s climax at 7:11 p.m., when the last sliver&nbsp;of the moon\u2019s bright disk gives way to a dull red glow.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" size-full wp-image-188079 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/pluto1.png\" alt=\"pluto\" width=\"250\" height=\"189\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/pluto1.png 250w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/pluto1-200x151.png 200w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/pluto1-132x100.png 132w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\"><br \/>\n<strong>Science journalist Alan Boyle<\/strong>&nbsp;is the author of &#8220;The Case for Pluto: How a Little Planet Made A Big Difference.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>That \u201cblood moon\u201d appearance&nbsp;\u2014 plus&nbsp;the fact that this is the last of an unusual tetrad of four lunar eclipses&nbsp;\u2014 gave&nbsp;rise to a round of doomsday predictions. But the only thing you have to fear from this eclipse is the risk of missing&nbsp;the&nbsp;key moment, either because you\u2019re in the wrong place or because of Seattle\u2019s fickle weather.<\/p>\n<p>On the weather front, the outlook is hopeful: Sunday\u2019s forecast calls for clear or mostly clear skies that evening. The main issue has to do with your viewing location. Because the total eclipse occurs so soon after sunset, you should find a place with a clear view to the eastern horizon.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou want to watch the beginning, so that means you want to be east-facing,\u201d Enevoldsen said. For her, that means meeting up with friends&nbsp;at the corner of 47th Avenue Southwest and Southwest Edmunds Street. But there are plenty of good&nbsp;vantage points in the area, including&nbsp;Seattle\u2019s Hamilton Viewpoint,&nbsp;Boren Park&nbsp;and&nbsp;Lake Washington Boulevard Park&nbsp;as well as the Eastside\u2019s&nbsp;Newcastle Golf Club.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_201511\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-201511\" style=\"width: 620px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-201511 size-full-width\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/150925-eclipse-620x443.jpg\" alt=\"This chart shows the main events for Sunday's total lunar eclipse. Due to the moon's slightly off-center path through Earth's umbra, the southern half of its disk should look slightly brighter during totality than the northern half. (Credit: Sky and Telescope)\" width=\"620\" height=\"443\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/150925-eclipse-620x443.jpg 620w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/150925-eclipse-1240x886.jpg 1240w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/150925-eclipse.jpg 1380w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-201511\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">This chart shows the main events for Sunday\u2019s total lunar eclipse. Due to the moon\u2019s slightly off-center path through Earth\u2019s umbra, the southern half of its disk should look slightly brighter during totality than the northern half. (Credit: Sky and Telescope)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Because this eclipse comes so close to the autumn equinox, the moon should rise almost due east&nbsp;\u2014 which makes it easier for photographers to plan what else they want to get in the picture. For example, to get the eclipsed moon rising over Mount Rainier, you\u2019ll want to find&nbsp;a clear eastward view from, say, Olympia.&nbsp;For more about snapping eclipse pics, check out NASA photographer Bill Ingalls\u2019 tips. (Share your pictures on the Cosmic Blog Facebook page.)<\/p>\n<p>Wherever you are, take plenty of&nbsp;time to enjoy the show: The eclipse reaches its peak point at 7:47 p.m., and starts moving out of Earth\u2019s shadow at 8:23 p.m. By 10:22 p.m. Sunday night, the best supermoon of the year will be shining&nbsp;in&nbsp;its full glory.<\/p>\n<p><em>Thanks to photographer&nbsp;Clane Gessel for sharing his picture of the 2008 lunar eclipse over Seattle\u2019s Space Needle. For more about the lunar eclipse, check out Sky &amp; Telescope\u2019s preview.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A total lunar eclipse shines dully over Seattle\u2019s Space Needle in 2008. (Credit: Clane Gessel) Sunday\u2019s super-sized total lunar eclipse is special for a couple of reasons, but it\u2019s extra-special for places like Seattle, where the timing is perfect for family viewing. \u201cI love it when these astronomical events are at a good time,\u201d said [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1661,4377,625,4378,4840],"class_list":["post-19605","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-astronomy","tag-lunar-eclipse","tag-moon","tag-skywatching","tag-supermoon"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19605"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19605"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19605\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}