FIRST FULL BLOOD MOON OF THE YEAR

Moon reached its darkest point at 9:11 p.m.

A total lunar eclipse — an event where the Earth casts its shadow on the moon — graced the skies over the West Coast on Sunday in the hours immediately following sunset, causing the moon to turn a haunting shade of red for an hour and a half.

At the Chabot Space & Science Center watch party, people moongazed from the observation deck and also got free telescope views.

“If you can find a spot where you can see the moon as its rising near the horizon, you should have a pretty good view,” said Gerald McKeegan, an astronomer at the Chabot Space & Science Center in Oakland. “And of course, as it gets higher in the sky, and the sky gets darker, it'll get even better.

The next such eclipse is expected to happen late on Nov. 7 and early on Nov. 8, when a total lunar eclipse will be seen over Asia, Australia, the Pacific Ocean and North and South America.

The West Coast should have a particularly prime opportunity to view that event, with the entire lunar eclipse expected to appear in view over California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada and Idaho, according to NASA.

The next such eclipse is expected to happen late on Nov. 7 and early on Nov. 8, when a total lunar eclipse will be seen over Asia, Australia, the Pacific Ocean and North and South America.

JOEL ROSENBAUM — THE REPORTER Obscured by the clouds, the Super Flower Blood Moon is cast in the reddish shadow as the Earth passes across its face as it climbs above Mt. Diablo in Contra Costa County on Sunday. According to the Farmer’s Almanac, the full moon in May is known as the “Flower Moon” due to the fact that flowers are abundant everywhere during this time. Other names include the Full Corn Planting Moon or the Milk Moon.