People in North America, South America, Africa and Europe will have a chance to see part of the moon’s surface obscured by Earth’s shadow.
Sky gazers have a reason to celebrate tonight as a full moon will coincide with a partial lunar eclipse. Such an event occurs as Earth passes between the moon and the sun, creating a celestial alignment that blocks sunlight from hitting the lunar surface.
Tonight's event will feature September’s full moon, which is known as the harvest moon because it is often associated with harvest time in the Northern Hemisphere, according to NASA.
It will also be a supermoon, because the moon will be at its closest point to Earth in its elliptical, 27-day orbit. When a full moon happens to occur at the same time as its closest approach to Earth, it appears slightly bigger and brighter than the average full moon, which is why it is known as a “supermoon.”
The partial lunar eclipse will begin at 20.41 ET (00.41 GMT), when the moon starts entering part of Earth’s shadow. Even with good weather and clear conditions, the dimming effect will likely be tricky to see until the top edge of the moon becomes obscured at around 22.13 ET (02.13 GMT), according to NASA.
The eclipse will peak at 22.44 ET (02.44 GMT), when roughly 8 percent of the moon’s surface will be in full shadow. This will come about 10 minutes after the moon becomes full at 22.35 ET.
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