GRAND RAPIDS — It appears the weather will cooperate in most of West Michigan to allow for viewing of a total lunar eclipse early Wednesday morning. After some rain showers Tuesday, the sky is expected to clear out Tuesday night.
This eclipse is the second in a series of four known as a “lunar tetrad.” The partial eclipse will start around 5:14 A.M. Michigan time, with the total eclipse beginning around 6:25. That part of the event lasts until 7:24.
You’ll want to try to catch this eclipse in its early stages for a couple of reasons. First, it will be very low in the western sky as the moon is setting, so it will quickly drop below objects like trees that might obstruct your view of the horizon. Second, early morning twilight will start to conflict and make viewing more difficult prior to sunrise around 7:47.
You may hear some referring to this as a “blood moon.” That is a term often brought up for lunar eclipses, as the moon generally takes on a deep red color due to the scattering of light through the Earth’s atmosphere. Also, “blood moon” is a secondary term for the full moon of this time of year, usually referred to as the “hunter’s moon.” The term seems to have taken on added popularity lately based on what some perceive as a religious significance to the lunar tetrad.
No matter what you call it, we’ll show you live images of the eclipse Wednesday morning on FOX 17 Morning News, in case you can’t see it from your backyard.
