California to experience supermoon, partial lunar eclipse on same day

(FOX40.COM) — Fans of spectacular celestial and lunar events will be excited to hear that California will experience a supermoon and partial lunar eclipse on the same day, according to NASA.

On Sept. 17, the moon’s orbit will bring it closer to the Earth, making it appear 14% bigger and 30% brighter than normal. This increase in size and brightness may not be totally apparent.

Not only will the moon be in a supermoon position it will also be a full moon and a harvest moon for the Northern Hemisphere given the time of year when most crops are harvested.

As if these lunar spectacles are not enough, there will also be a partial lunar eclipse of the supermoon, as the shadow of the Earth will take a shadowy chunk out of the moon.

The eclipse is expected to last about an hour and occur in the evening on the West Coast while the moon is still rising.

According to NASA, the moon will start entering the Earth’s partial shadow at 5:41 p.m. PST and will be noticeably in the Earth’s shadow by 7:13 p.m. PST.

At 7:44 p.m., the partial eclipse will peak as the top 8% percent of the moon will be covered by the Earth’s shadow. The moon will exit the full shadow by 8:16 p.m.

For more information on lunar and celestial events happening in September click here .

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