WASHINGTON – Americans can enjoy a special celestial event Wednesday morning.
NASA says viewing the eclipse may be challenging in the eastern time zone, with the best viewing in the western U.S.
“Your best opportunity if you live in the East is to head outside about 6:45 a.m. and get to a high place to watch the start of the eclipse—make sure you have a clear line of sight to the horizon in the west-northwest, opposite from where the Sun will rise,” said Gordon Johnston, program executive and lunar blogger at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
If you can’t find a good spot to view the eclipse, there are a few sites streaming live online, including the NASA TV stream above.
You will also be able to follow along the webcast on @NASAMoon, NASA’s lunar Twitter account.
The stream begins at 5.30am EST (10.30am GMT) before the penumbral eclipse begins and will feature views from different vantage points in western USA.
NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles and the University of Arizona’s Mt.Lemmon SkyCenter Observatory are the chosen locations to stream the super blue blood moon.
Another streaming option is Slooh. You can watch the webcast live on Slooh.com, or on Space.com, courtesy of Slooh.
Finally, Space Videos will be streaming the event live on their YouTube channel as well.
Here’s more about the lunar event and why it’s special:
- It’s the third in a series of “supermoons,” when the Moon is closer to the Earth and is about 14 percent brighter than usual.
- It’s the second full moon of the month, commonly known as a “blue moon.”
- The moon will pass through Earth’s shadow to give viewers in the right location a total lunar eclipse.
- While the Moon is in the Earth’s shadow, it will take on a reddish tint, known as a “blood moon.”
The next lunar eclipse will be on Jan. 21, 2019 and will be visible throughout all of the U.S.
