Super Harvest Blood Moon Appears Tonight

Blood Moon seen over Poughkeepsie on October 8, 2014. Taken by John Morzen.

Weather permitting, residents of the Hudson Valley have the opportunity to witness an incredibly rare phenomenon, the Super Harvest Blood Moon. Tonight is the full moon closest to the occurrence of Autumnal Equinox, called a "Harvest Moon". The Moon is also at its closest approach to the Earth for the year, making it a "supermoon" (it will appear 14% larger and 33% brighter than usual). Furthermore, the Moon will also experience an eclipse tonight, as Earth's shadow passes across it, giving it the appearance of a red "blood"-toned color, hence "blood moon".

Starting at 9:07pm EST, the Moon will begin to be partially eclipsed, where the shadow of the Earth will be seen to darken an increasing portion of the it until 10:11pm. At that point, the eclipse will begin to reach totality, and its color will begin to change to red. At 10:48pm, it will be as red as it's going to get (arguably the best time to view it and take photos), with the totality of the eclipse ending at 11:23pm. From there, the last half of the partial eclipse will occur through 12:27am, when it ends.

A "Super Blood Moon" has only occurred 5 times since 1900, with the next one set to appear in 2033. Try to see this one, if you can!

If you get a photo of it, be sure to share it on our Facebook page and Twitter account!