Eclipse, Supermoon and Blood moon will appear same time this year

The natural spectacle will start on Sunday night or Monday at dawn, depending on the place, and will last approximately three hours. If the skies are clear, it can be seen in America and Western Europe

A total lunar eclipse, a supermoon and a moon of blood are approaching. Everything, simultaneously. The Moon, the Earth and the Sun will line up over the weekend, in what will be the only total eclipse of this year and next. At the same time, the Moon will be closer to Earth and will look slightly larger and brighter than usual: a supermoon.

“It will be especially good,” said Patrick Hartigan, an astrophysicist at Rice University. “The total eclipse will last a lot, about an hour.”

If the skies are clear, the phenomenon can be seen in South America and North America, including Greenland, as well as in Iceland, Ireland, Great Britain, Norway, Sweden, Portugal and the coasts of France and Spain. In the rest of Europe, as well as in Africa, it can be partially seen before the Moon sets.

At the time of the eclipse, the Moon will appear red due to the sunlight reflected in the Earth’s atmosphere. That’s why it’s called a blood moon. “The good thing is that you do not need any special equipment to see it,” Hartigan said.

In Asia, Australia and New Zealand will not be seen. The next total lunar eclipse will occur in May 2021.