Don’t Miss Tuesday’s Unique Harvest Supermoon Eclipse—Here’s How to Watch

The afloat Moon volition beryllium somewhat little afloat connected Tuesday night, acknowledgment to the Earth’s shadow, arsenic our satellite volition walk betwixt our outer and the Sun, starring to a partial lunar eclipse.

It’s the 2nd lunar eclipse of 2024, though the erstwhile 1 was harder to see. In March, radical successful the Americas were capable to presumption a penumbral lunar eclipse, successful which the Moon travels done the faint outer borderline of the Earth’s shadow. Tuesday’s eclipse, though inactive lone a partial one, volition beryllium overmuch easier to see.

The eclipse volition commencement astatine 8:41 p.m. ET, according to NASA, though it won’t truly beryllium disposable until 10:13 p.m., erstwhile the apical borderline of the Moon begins entering the Earth’s shadow. The highest of the eclipse volition statesman astatine 10:44 p.m., but lone the apical 8% of the Moon volition beryllium afloat shadowed. That volition past until 11:16 p.m., and the eclipse volition beryllium wholly done astatine 12:47 a.m.

Though lone partial, viewers should get a decent presumption of the eclipse, arsenic it volition instrumentality spot during a supermoon. That’s erstwhile the Moon’s orbit approaches its perigee—the constituent wherever it’s closest to Earth—making it look larger and brighter than normal. It’s besides the afloat Moon closest to the autumnal equinox, an lawsuit popularly known arsenic the Harvest Moon. The eclipse volition beryllium disposable from the Americas, Europe, and Africa.

A lunar eclipse occurs erstwhile the Sun, Earth, and Moon align truthful that Earth is straight betwixt our prima and our satellite. This alignment causes Earth to formed its shadiness upon the Moon.

That’s antithetic from what happens during the phases of the Moon, successful which the Moon goes from afloat to a tiny sliver and backmost again. While it mightiness look that the varying visibility is owed to shadows formed upon the Moon, it’s really because, arsenic the Moon orbits Earth, the information of its sunlit broadside disposable to america changes.

Lunar eclipses aren’t precisely rare, usually occurring anyplace betwixt 1 to 3 times per year. Unlike star eclipses, they are besides wholly harmless to look astatine without protective eyewear, due to the fact that they don’t necessitate looking straight astatine the Sun. Instead, observers are staring astatine sunlight that’s reflected disconnected the Moon’s surface, which is truthful acold little bright. Though disposable to the bare eye, the National Weather Service recommends utilizing a brace of binoculars oregon a scope to get the champion view.

If you’re an eclipse snob who won’t get disconnected the sofa for thing little than the full package, you won’t person agelong to wait. A full lunar eclipse volition instrumentality spot connected March 14, 2025, and volition beryllium disposable successful the Americas, the Pacific, occidental Europe, and occidental Africa. The astir caller full lunar eclipse was successful November, 2022.