Get Ready For A Spectacular "Blood" Moon Next Week

Get out those telescopes and binoculars, skywatchers! The most spectacular full moon of 2021 is fast approaching. It will be appearing in the night sky on May 26 and, thanks to a lunar eclipse, it won't be just a "supermoon", but it will be a "blood moon" as well.

CNN reports this supermoon will be the closest moon to the earth this year. The folks at NASA further explain that a blood moon occurs during a total lunar eclipse, when the Earth is positioned directly between the moon and the sun, hiding the moon from sunlight. It's named for its red glow.

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NASA issued this statement:

When this happens, the only light that reaches the moon's surface is from the edges of the Earth's atmosphere. The air molecules from Earth's atmosphere scatter out most of the blue light. The remaining light reflects onto the moon's surface with a red glow, making the moon appear red in the night sky.

Next week's supermoon will be the first total lunar eclipse since January 2019. And even though it will take the moon a shade over three hours to pass through the Earth's shadow, the lunar eclipse itself will last approximately 15 minutes.

By the way, May's supermoon is known as the "Flower Moon". It's appropriately named for the abundance of flowers associated with spring in the Northern Hemisphere.

NASA says that the cosmic phenomenon will be at least partly visible anywhere on the night side of the planet. Under clear weather conditions, skywatchers around the world will be able to enjoy the show. And although solar eclipses should not be viewed with the naked eye, lunar eclipses are completely safe to look at.

If you're not located in the best spot to view the eclipse, no worries. Check out the Virtual Telescope Project website. They will have a live feed of the event starting at 6 a.m. ET on May 26.

To get a lot more info, including other things to see in the sky this year, check out CNN's website here.

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