What are you planning to do this evening? If you don't have any particular plans, I'd like to suggest that you go outside and stare at the sky.
Okay, I'll be a little more specific. Tonight we'll get both a "supermoon" and the fourth of a lunar tetrad, which will lead to a "blood moon."
A supermoon happens when the moon is full at the time when it's closest to Earth. You won't see the moon filling the sky or anything like that, but it will be a little bigger than usual.
The lunar tetrad is a series of four consecutive total lunar eclipses, which is pretty rare. The blood moon happens when the moon is fully eclipsed and turns a sort of reddish-orange color.
Take a look at this website: timeanddate.com It shows a cool animation of what to expect when you're looking up at the eclipse (no special glasses or shields are necessary for a lunar eclipse). It also gives you a lot of information about where and when you can see it.
I recommend giving it a try. The so-called "blood moon" is a fascinating sight, and it's also interesting to track the path of the eclipse as the moon first darkens (in Earth's penumbra) and then turns color (in Earth's umbra).
As you might guess, I have a certain fondness for anything involving a Penumbra.
I hope you'll give it a try. I plan to be out there, once again baffling the neighbors by standing there with my head thrown back while I stare upward. Maybe they're used to it by now and won't even notice!
Work continues on The Other Side. There's still a lot to be done, but I'll keep working on it. Thanks for following my blog!
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