A trio of celestial events will take place this week in the skies over the Chicago area, with a supermoon, a partial lunar eclipse and the “Harvest Moon” all happening on the same night.
The partial lunar eclipse will darken and partially obscure the full moon, which itself will appear slightly larger thanks to its closer proximity to Earth, officials said.
The confluence of events will take place on Tuesday night, and here’s everything you need to know.
What is a “supermoon”?
A “supermoon” occurs when a full or new moon occurs while the moon is within 90% of its closest point to Earth, according to NASA. That equates to about 226,000 miles from the surface on average.
These full moons tend to be a little brighter than usual and may even appear slightly larger in the sky, according to experts.
What is a “lunar eclipse”?
During a solar eclipse, the moon travels between the sun and the earth and blocks it extinguish some or most of the sun’s light in a spectacular show.
In a lunar eclipse, the Earth’s shadow obscures the light from the Sun as it reflects off the Moon’s surface at night.
A total lunar eclipse can sometimes turn the moon’s surface an eerie red color, but in a partial eclipse, like the one that will occur this week, only part of the moon’s surface will be obscured and darkened.
What is the “Harvest Moon”?
Usually, the full moon in September is known as the “full corn moon,” but when it is the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox, which occurs on Sunday, it is known as the “harvest moon.” according to the Royal Museums Greenwich.
With these events happening all at once, what can residents expect?
According to to TimeandDate, the partial lunar eclipse will begin shortly after 7:30pm on Tuesday night and peak around 9:44pm
There will be a visible darkening of the moon’s surface, but it will only be partially obscured, according to NASA.