SAN ANTONIO – Weather Update: “Regardless of clouds, we’ll be on the edge of being able to see the eclipse because of moonset,” said KSAT meteorologist Justin Horne. “We may be able to see totality briefly but clouds will be there, however, a few breaks are possible. So, basically, you’ll have to get lucky.”
San Antonio is in for an astronomical treat on Wednesday, as a rare lunar trifecta will be visible from the Alamo City.
A super blood moon, combined with a total lunar eclipse, will take place in the morning hours and will combine several different lunar events.
NASA experts said via email that this will be “the biggest and brightest full moon of the year” and that it happens to coincide with a total lunar eclipse.
The moon will also appear predominantly red, which is referred to as a blood moon. The science behind the phenomenon has to do with the reflection of light.
“Short-wavelength blue light from the Sun hits molecules in Earth’s atmosphere and scatters, but longer-wavelength red and orange light mostly travels right through, striking fewer molecules,” according to Forbes.
As for the total lunar eclipse, San Antonio is one of the lucky areas that will have complete visibility for the 14-minute event.
TimeAndDate.com details the visibility of the total lunar eclipse from San Antonio and notes that the eclipse will start at 6:11 a.m. with the maximum eclipse taking place at 6:18 a.m. The entire event is expected to end by 6:25 a.m.
Technically speaking, a total lunar eclipse is really three eclipses at once - starting with a penumbral lunar eclipse which occurs when the earth’s outer shadow, known as its penumbra, touches the moon’s face. This will start around 3:47 a.m. for San Antonio.
The moon will start to appear red as the partial eclipse begins around 4:44 a.m. in our area, according to TimeAndDate.com.
By 7:52 a.m. the partial eclipse will end and the penumbral eclipse will end around 8:49 a.m. Both of these occurrences are not expected to be directly visible in San Antonio, TimeAndDate.com reports.
Forbes also noted that next week’s supermoon will be the largest-looking and brightest full moon of the year, calling the total lunar eclipse event “rare.”
You might also hear the moon referred to as the super flower moon. Each month’s full moon is associated with a specific name and May’s moon is called the Flower Moon, according to TimeAndDate.com.
The next expected partial lunar eclipse that will be visible in our area is not expected until Nov. 19.
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