Total Lunar Eclipse Will Bring Full Super Flower Blood Moon To Colorado In May
DENVER (CBS4) - If the weather cooperates on May 15 you'll have the chance to see a total lunar eclipse in Colorado. In fact, a large part of the world will get to see this eclipse, including much of North America and all of South America.
Even better news is that it will be visible at a decent hour this year, starting just before 8 p.m., reaching peak just after 10 p.m. and ending a little after midnight. When this happened last May you had to get up between 3 and 5 a.m. to catch a glimpse.
The Full Super Flower Blood Moon is a mouth full to say, so let's break it down...
- Full - the moon is opposite the sun in its orbit around Earth and the sunlit side is entirely visible from our planet
- Super – since the moon will be in perigee, which is the closest point to Earth on it's orbit, it is called a supermoon, making it appear bigger and brighter in the sky
- Flower – the May full moon is often called the Flower Moon since so many flowers are in bloom
- Blood – during the total lunar eclipse the moon will appear red as it passes through Earth's shadow
The next lunar eclipse visible in Colorado will take place later this year on November 8. To see it, you'll have to either stay up late or get up really early. In Denver it will start around 1 a.m., reach a peak around 4 a.m. and end just after sunrise.
RELATED: Watch The Upcoming Lunar Eclipse At The Chamberlin Observatory