NASA On Air: Preview of September 27, 2015, Supermoon Total Lunar Eclipse (9/25/2015)

LEAD: Step outside on Sunday evening (September 27th) to see a special astronomical event: a supermoon total lunar eclipse. 1. At 9:07 p.m. EDT the moon will start to enter Earth’s shadow. An hour later, the moon will appear a ghostly copper color. The change in color will last for over an hour as the moon passes through Earth’s central shadow and is illuminated by filtered sunlight passing through Earth’s atmosphere. 2. As the moon orbits Earth, it has a farthest point in its orbit (apogee) and closest point (perigee). On Sunday, the full moon occurs during the closest perigee of the year. This is sometimes called a supermoon. 3. Supermoons occur *on average* every 14 months. But what’s special about Sunday’s supermoon is that it will happen during a total lunar eclipse. TAG: The next supermoon total lunar eclipse won't happen until 2033.