If you ask someone what a “meteorologist” is, you usually either get the answer of “someone who studies the weather” or “someone who studies meteors.” While meteorologists don’t actually study meteors, those of us in the broadcast industry are often considered the “station scientists.” As such, we do try to pay some attention to cool things happening up in outer space and do our best to give you a heads up so you can see them, too!
SO, this is your heads up! This Sunday night into early Monday morning (May 15/16), there will be a total lunar eclipse. The way our forecast looks now, the sky on Sunday night should be mostly clear. Like with any forecast, things will change between now and then, so keep checking in with us for the most up to date forecast. (AKA watch our newscast Saturday night for an update on Sunday night’s clouds.)
You might be wondering, what exactly is a total lunar eclipse? As the moon orbits the Earth (which orbits the Sun), there comes a time when all three line up perfectly. In this case, the Earth is between the Sun and moon, which blocks most of the light from the Sun from reaching the moon. As the moon enters the Earth’s shadow, it turns a reddish color.
As far as timing late Sunday into early Monday, here’s what you need to know. It begins around 8:30 pm, but the partial eclipse doesn’t start until almost 9:30 pm. The moon finally is in the Earth’s shadow (or umbra) beginning at 10:29 pm with the maximum eclipse at 11:11 pm. The total eclipse ends at 11:53 pm with the partial eclipse ending at 12:55 am. The eclipse as a whole comes to an end just before 2:00 am Monday morning.
