Here’s When Duluth, Superior Area Residents Can See This Weekend’s Total Lunar Eclipse
Northland residents will want to have their eyes to the nighttime skies at the end of this weekend as there will be an opportunity to see something very cool!
Sunday night into early Monday morning, people in the Americas, Europe and Africa will get to see a total lunar eclipse, when the moon is fully in Earth's shadow.
According to EarthSky, the moon is in a near part of its orbit, meaning it's close to Earth during this eclipse. That means it's a supermoon!
They add that because they are so deep, such eclipses typically have the longest total phases. In this case, the duration of totality lasts 84.9 minutes, nearly an hour and a half.
A full moon is up only at night. And a total lunar eclipse can be seen from all of Earth that is experiencing night while the eclipse is taking place. But some will see the eclipse better than others, depending on location. Some will see it at moonrise or moonset, when the moon is low in the sky. Lunar eclipses are safe to view with the unaided eye. Binoculars and telescopes enhance the view, but aren’t required.
Our media partners at WDIO-TV recently shared this event as well, pointing out the timeframe where Northland residents will have the best opportunity to see the total lunar eclipse.
It looks like we can all start looking upward around 8:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 15, but the best time to be on the lookout will be between 10:30 p.m. and just before midnight.
Of course, the only thing that can mess this up for us is the weather. WDIO points out that while we may have some clouds in the area, there is a chance they could hold off long enough to allow us all to have a great view!