Rare ‘supermoon’ eclipse expected Sunday

Sunday evening’s shadowing of the moon is getting all of the hype you would expect from an event that has been dubbed the “supermoon” eclipse.

It turns out that the eclipse – which will be in progress when the moon rises in the east at dusk – is occurring at the same time the moon reaches its closest point to Earth in its near-monthly orbit.

The eclipse will be in its early stages when the moon rises due east around sunset. The total eclipse starts at 7:11 p.m. and extends until 8:23 p.m.

During that time, the moon will take on a reddish hue from sunlight being refracted through Earth’s atmosphere. That’s led to the term “blood moon” for total lunar eclipses. The color varies from one eclipse to the next, and it is often said to be similar to a copper penny.

Forecasters say the weather should be favorable for eclipse viewing.

That will be a change from eclipses in the past few years.

“The last couple of lunar eclipses we’ve had have been clouded out, so I am excited,” said Debbie Cotton, secretary of the Spokane Astronomical Society.

Sunday’s eclipse is the last in a series of four lunar eclipses – known as a tetrad – that have occurred every six months since early 2014, according to Sky & Telescope magazine.

The last lunar eclipse on April 4 occurred in Spokane around 4 a.m. with clouds above. The next lunar eclipse won’t be until 2018.

This time, Sunday’s eclipse should be clear enough, early enough and warm enough for anyone to enjoy.

Temperatures at dusk should dip from the low 60s to the mid-50s.

Jeff Cote, forecaster for the National Weather Service in Spokane, said some computer forecast models used by the agency show no chance of any clouds at dusk Sunday while other models say there is a chance of some mid- to upper-level clouds.