A rare celestial event Sunday as total eclipse coincides with supermoon

The total lunar eclipse taking place Sunday night will coincide with a supermoon, the first time this has happened since 1982.

The eclipse will have already started when the moon rises over the South Sound at 6:55 p.m., having begun at 6:07 p.m. The eclipse will reach its maximum at 7:47 p.m. The total eclipse is expected to last an hour and 12 minutes.

The eclipse will take place as the Earth blocks the sunlight from hitting the moon as the three bodies align, with the Earth in the middle.

What is being called the full harvest perigee moon, better known as a supermoon, it will be bigger and brighter than any other moon this year, according to astronomers.

It earns the best supermoon title because it will be closer to Earth than any other time this year, 221,753 miles away.

If the weather cooperates, you might want to go outside and watch. The next time a supermoon will coincide with an eclipse will be 2033, according to NASA officials. The last time it took place was in 1982.

Astronomers said viewers do not need to take any special precautions, saying it is OK to look at the lunar eclipse with the naked eye.

BLOOD MOON: During the eclipse, the moon will look reddish, leading people to coin the term “blood moon.” The color is actually a phenomenon called Rayleigh scattering, the scattering of the light off the molecules of the atmosphere, which is also responsible for causing colorful sunrises and sunsets.

Because of the recent wildfires, smoke in the atmosphere might make the moon appear darker and redder.

The weather forecast, at least at deadline, appeared to be good for viewing the eclipse. Clear skies are expected over the South Sound as the eclipse occurs.

WATCH ONLINE: If the weather doesn’t cooperate, or you can’t get outdoors to watch, you can track the event via a live webcast from the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. Go to livestream.com/GriffithObservatoryTV to watch, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, will offer a live UStream view of the eclipse as well. You can watch the event at ustream.tv/channel/nasa-msfc.

This story was originally published September 24, 2015 at 9:30 PM with the headline "A rare celestial event Sunday as total eclipse coincides with supermoon."