Every once in a while, some event takes place in the night sky that can be visible by those who do not own telescopes, and is impressive for all who see it. For example, the night sky on September 27 and 28 this year will have a supermoon lunar eclipse, an event that has not been seen in over thirty years, and won't be seen again for another long time. This is the best places and times to view the Supermoon Lunar Eclipse of September 27-28.
According to Patch, this September is going to be a very rare event as the Full Harvest Moon will converge with both a perigee and total lunar eclipse. The perigee moon, or supermoon, is when the full moon cycle coincides with the moon's closest approach to Earth during its oval-shaped orbit. The moon will appear slightly larger than normal and look pretty spectacular as well, giving more light to the night sky.
The fact that it will happen on a day of a total lunar eclipse is also going to be worth watching. A lunar eclipse is when the Moon passes directly behind the Earth into its umbra, or shadow, which causes an often red look to the moon. This can only occur if the sun, Earth, moon are lined up exactly, in that particular order. The technical term for this is syzygy, a Greek word for "being paired together".
This supermoon lunar eclipse will takes place on September 27, 2015. The last supermoon eclipse took place in 1982, and the next will not be seen until 2033, according to Space.com. This supermoon lunar eclipse has only taken place five times since 1900, so this is one event that you will want to observe outside in order to get its full effect.
The best time to observe this super blood moon will be Sunday, September 27, at 6:55 PM Pacific Daylight Time. Those who live on the West Coast will discover that it might be harder to see due to all the wildfires. Also, after doing a search on Sunrise and Sunset, it looks like sunset will end at 19:39 (7:39 PM), which means there will still be some daylight left for the blood supermoon, assuming that you are on the West Coast.
According to MLive, this is a supermoon that will be the largest total lunar eclipse in 18 years. The times are different depending where you live. For example, Michigan will have a partial eclipse that will start after 9:00 PM, with a total eclipse starting at 10:11 PM and 11:23 PM. It will then be over by 12:30 AM, September 28th. Keep a good lookout on the local news where you are to see the best time for it, or just keep watching the moon from time to time that night to see when it looks best.
The best places to see the supermoon lunar eclipse would be on the East Coast, as anything east of the Midwest will be in full night. Anything West of the Midwest will be in full twilight, which might be enough to get a decent view. Anyone who is in South America will get a full night view of the supermoon lunar eclipse, as is anyone in western Africa or Europe.
