Look up for tonight's near-Earth asteroid fly-by, supermoon, partial lunar eclipse show

There’ll be a celestial show tonight with a stadium-sized asteroid fly-by, a Harvest full supermoon and partial lunar eclipse.

NASA reported that the asteroid dubbed “2024 ON” will pass by Earth on Wednesday, Sept. 17, traveling within 621,000 miles of our planet.

NASA is monitoring the “potentially hazardous object,” though the space agency does not expect the asteroid to pose any threat.

By cosmic standards, the asteroid fly-by is an incredibly tight margin — but still far enough away that no Earthlings need worry about the passing space rock, according to Live Science.

NASA labels objects that come within 4.6 million miles of Earth and are larger than 492 feet.

For those interested in following the course of 2024 ON as it skims past Earth, visit NASA’s Small-Body Database at ssd.jpl.nasa.gov .

What is a partial lunar eclipse?

Tonight’s full moon is a Harvest supermoon, with a partial lunar eclipse.

During the partial lunar eclipse, the moon will appear murky red-brown as the Earth’s shadow moves across the moon’s surface, according to Space.com.

Nearly 3.5% of the moon's visible surface will be covered by the darkest part of Earth's shadow, the umbra. The rest of the full moon will take on a slightly reddish-brown appearance as the lighter portion of Earth's shadow, which doesn't entirely block the sun's light will descend upon a majority of the lunar surface.

The partial lunar eclipse will be visible to those living in most of North America, all of South America, Europe, all but the easternmost parts of Africa, western portions of Asia and Russia, and parts of Antarctica.

The exact timing of the partial lunar eclipse depends on your location. In Visalia, the eclipse begins at 7 p.m., with maximum coverage at 7:44 p.m. and the conclusion at 9:47 p.m., according to timeanddate.com .

What is a Supermoon?

The moon travels around Earth in an elliptical orbit, or an elongated circle, with Earth closer to one side of the ellipse, NASA officials explained.

Each month, the moon passes through the point closest to Earth (perigee) and the point farthest from Earth (apogee).

When the moon is at, or near its closest point to Earth at the same time as it is full, it is called a “supermoon.”

During this celestial event, because the full moon is a little bit closer to Earth than usual, it appears especially large and bright in the sky.

The term "supermoon" was coined by astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979 as either a new or full moon that occurs when the moon is within 90% of its closest approach to Earth.

Lunar eclipse coincides with Harvest Moon

The September full moon is traditionally known as the Harvest Full Moon because it’s usually the moon that occurs closest to the autumnal equinox, which is Sept. 22.

After sunset, and for several evenings before, during and after the September full moon, an abundance of bright moonlight is available early in the evening, which was a traditional aid to farmers and crews harvesting their summer-grown crops. Hence, it’s called the “Harvest” moon, according to Almanac.com.

Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com . Follow him on X @DP_ReneDeLaCruz

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Look up for tonight's near-Earth asteroid fly-by, supermoon, partial lunar eclipse show