Super Harvest Moon Rises Tonight along with a Partial Lunar Eclipse

MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) – A very special moon will illuminate the Gulf Coast skies Tuesday night.

September’s full moon is set to rise Tuesday at 6:51 PM . What is being dubbed as the Super Harvest Moon will also be eclipsed by the Earth’s Shadow.

What is being dubbed as the Super Harvest Moon will also be eclipsed by the Earth’s Shadow. Here is what you need to know including important times for this celestial event.

THE HARVEST MOON

According to the Farmer’s Almanac, the name Harvest Moon is given to the moon that falls closest to the Autumnal Equinox. The equinox occurs at 7:43 AM on September 22.

SUPERMOON

A supermoon occurs when a full moon occurs when the Moon is at perigee . It is a common belief that the moon takes a completely circular orbit around the Earth, but that is not the case. The path is elliptical meaning at certain times of the year, the Moon is ‘close’ ( perigee ) or ‘far’ ( apogee ) from Earth.

PARTIAL ECLIPSE

Tuesday night’s Super Harvest Moon will also take place at the time of a partial lunar eclipse . A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth is positioned directly between the Sun and the Moon. This causes the Earth’s shadow to cast on the face of the moon. During a total lunar eclipse , the Moon turns a rusty red color lending its more popular name, the Blood Moon . In Tuesday night’s case, the Moon will pass into the penumbra, Earth’s outer shadow, but not entirely into the umbra , Earth’s inner shadow. From the Gulf Coast’s perspective, the Moon will start bright and then appear slightly darker.

TUESDAY NIGHT’S ECLIPSE TIMING

• 6:51 PM – Moonrise
• 7:41 PM – Penumbral Eclipse Begins: The Moon begins the enter the Earth’s outer shadow (Penumbra), the moon will slowly begin to darken
• 9:12 PM – Partial Eclipse Begins: The Moon begins the enter the Earth’s inner shadow (Umbra)
• 9:44 PM – Maximum Eclipse: Magnitude 0.085 (approximately 9% of the Moon will be covered by the umbra, you may see a slight reddish tint)
• 10:15 PM – Partial Eclipse Ends
• 11:47 PM – Penumbral Eclipse Ends

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