A Partial Lunar Eclipse And Supermoon Set To Coincide Tonight In Bright Celestial Show

Eyes to the skies, y’all!

Tonight’s moon won’t just be full, it will be a supermoon and partial lunar

eclipse

as well.

According to

NASA

, the moon will be at its fullest at 10:35 p.m. EST on Tuesday. At 10:44 p.m EST., less than 10 minutes later, the top 3.5 percent of the moon will be in the Earth’s shadow—the peak of the partial eclipse. It will look like a little bite was taken out of it.

“The eclipse tonight will not be a total lunar eclipse, so the moon won’t appear red, instead a portion of the moon will darken,” Noah Petro, NASA project scientist for both the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and Artemis III, told

CNN

.

“If you didn’t know it was happening or even look at the moon it might not be noticeable. But the keen observer may notice the ‘top right’ corner of the moon darker than the rest of the moon,” Petro continued. “This is the part that is completely in (Earth’s) shadow, though not a large portion of the moon will be in darkness. But if it’s clear out I encourage folks to go out and look, it’s always worthwhile to  look at the moon!”

And if that’s not enough to get you excited, it will also be a supermoon, which is when a new or full moon occurs when the moon is within 90% of its closest to Earth.

According to


The New York Times


, people in states bordering the

Mississippi River

may have “the best shot at an unobstructed view of the eclipse,” thanks to the clear skies forecasted. Clouds are unfortunately forecasted for much of the east coast.

“It’s still worth seeing,” Bruce Betts, chief scientist at the Planetary Society, told the

Times

. “But if it’s cloudy, you don’t have to be too sad.”

The next supermoon, which will be even closer, is scheduled for October 17, 2024.