Best times to watch the ‘super blood wolf moon’ eclipse

Hoping to watch this weekend’s “super blood wolf moon” eclipse from South Florida?

The only total lunar eclipse of 2019, it gets underway Sunday just after 9:30 p.m., according to NASA.

The “super blood wolf moon” nickname is certainly ominous. “Super” and “blood” refer to what will be the moon’s strikingly big profile in the sky that night — due to its close proximity to Earth — and the reddish tinge that will envelop it as the eclipse occurs.

The “wolf ” part is said to originate from a Native American tradition of referring to January’s full moon as the Full Wolf Moon. “In Native American and early Colonial times, the Full Moon for January was called the Full Wolf Moon,” The Old Farmer’s Almanac says. “It appeared when wolves howled in hunger outside the villages.” The “super blood wolf moon” nickname is certainly ominous. “Super” and “blood” refer to what will be the moon’s strikingly big profile in the sky that night and the reddish tinge that will envelop it as the eclipse occurs.

According to NASA, the eclipse will be “visible for its entirety in North and South America.”

Remember these times if

you’re planning to watch this astronomical spectacle from South Florida or anywhere else along

the U.S. East Coast:

■ 9:36 p.m. Sunday: This marks the very beginning of the lunar eclipse. It’s when the moon will begin to enter the outer part of the Earth’s shadow, called the penumbra. For the next hour, the moon will dim slightly.

■ 10:33 p.m. Sunday: This is when the moon will begin to pass into the darkest part of the Earth’s shadow, known as the umbra. You’ll notice the moon getting significantly darker.

■ 11:41 p.m. Sunday: The moon will now be completely inside the umbra, marking the beginning of the total eclipse.

■ 12:12 a.m. Monday: Just after Sunday turns into Monday, peak total eclipse will happen. It’s the “moment of greatest eclipse, when the Moon is halfway through the umbra, occurs,” NASA explains.

This is when the “blood” part occurs, when the The umbra and penumbra. According to the National Weather Service, the forecast for Sunday night calls for a 20 percent chance of showers with partly cloudy skies and temperatures dropping into the low 50s.

moon becomes a reddishorange ball.

■ 12:43 a.m. Monday: It’s the beginning of the end of the total lunar eclipse as the moon begins to pass out of the darkest part of the earth’s shadow and into the opposite-side penumbra.

■ 1:50 a.m. Monday: The moon passes completely out of the umbra, marking the end of the total eclipse.

■ 2:48 a.m. Monday: As the moon moves completely out of the the lighter-shadow penumbra, the eclipse ends.

The visibility of all this,

of course, depends on whether there will be clear skies over South Florida.

According to the National Weather Service, the forecast for Sunday night calls for a 20 percent chance of showers with partly cloudy skies and temperatures dropping

into the low 50s.

With many people off from work and school Monday in recognition of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, perhaps you’ll be able to stay up late and watch.

NASA

NASA