Chance to see “Super Flower Blood Moon” lunar eclipse Sunday night

The moon will be rising Sunday night in Western Washington, just in time for the first lunar eclipse of 2022. This also will occur at the time of a “super moon,” when the moon is nearest its closest point to earth.

This will set the stage for a show with the moon taking on a deep blood-red appearance, right near the southeast horizon.

But will we get a chance to see it? Clouds could well get in the way, but after early-day rain Sunday, some clearing skies could give us a peek.

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TIMELINE: 8:34 p.m. (Pacific) Sunday evening, moonrise. The moon will have just entered “totality” minutes before, the time when the earth is directly between the sun and the moon. Since the earth will be blocking most of the sun’s light, the moon will be a very deep, dusky, “blood” red color as it rises in the southeast sky

9:11 p.m. will be the moment the moon is at its maximum eclipse point, which will also be the time the moon will be at its darkest red. The least amount of light is reaching the surface of the moon at this point.

9:53 p.m. will be the end of totality. At this point, the moon will start to come out of the earth’s shadow. Over the following hour, less of the moon will be “blood red” and more will be illuminated by sunlight.

10:55 p.m. The eclipse ends.

WHERE TO LOOK: Even without clouds getting in the way, it could be tough initially for city dwellers and others with obstructions in the way to the southeast. By the time the moon ends totality at 9:53 p.m., it will have risen enough for many people to get a glimpse (again, provided cloud cover isn’t a problem)

We’ll be monitoring the conditions and updating you on the forecast all weekend long on KIRO 7 News.

Oh, and why is it called a “Super Flower Blood Moon”? Well, this isn’t the official term, but...

SUPER: Since the moon is closest to the earth

FLOWER: This is occurring during the spring, the flowering season

BLOOD MOON: The eclipse will cause the moon to appear deep, dark or “blood” red.

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