"Lunar eclipse April 15 2014 California Alfredo Garcia Jr1" by Tomruen - [1]. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons
“Lunar eclipse April 15 2014 California Alfredo Garcia Jr1” by Tomruen – [1]. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons
On Sunday, we’re going to have a supermoon, when the moon is closest to Earth. Although it’s still about 354,000 kilometres away, the moon is going to look up to 14 percent larger that usual.

But the harvest supermoon – called that because it’s at the beginning of the autumn season – is extra awesome this year for another reason though. It’s a total lunar eclipse, also called a Blood Moon! That’s obviously not a scientific term, but the moon will pass behind behind the Earth into its shadow, causing a red tint across its surface. This happens because of Rayleigh scattering, the same thing that causes colourful sunrises and sunsets.

That convergence of lunar eclipse and supermoon together hasn’t happened for 32 years and won’t happen again until 2033. So we really are talking about a once in a lifetime event.

Unlike solar eclipses, you don’t need any protective eye wear to view a lunar eclipse, and here in the middle of North America we’re expected to get one of the best views in the worldd. Plus, the Winnipeg weather forecast is looking clear for Sunday night.

“It’s one of best astronomical events to witness without any equipment and we know exactly when it’s going to happen,” AccuWeather Meteorologist and Astronomy Blogger Dave Samuhel said. “The moon will be fully eclipsed for a little over one hour, but the time from the very start to the very end of the eclipse will be a little over three hours.”

The time of the various phases of the eclipse are:

  • Moonrise: 7:10 p.m.
  • Start of partial eclipse: 8:07 p.m.
  • Start of total eclipse: 9:11 p.m.
  • End of total eclipse: 10:23 p.m.
  • End of partial eclipse: 11:27 p.m.

Members of the Winnipeg Centre of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada plan to set up telescopes in Assiniboine Park, north of the Assiniboine Park Pavilion, along the sidewalk that leads to the footbridge to Portage Avenue and you’re invited to join them to get a closer look. Viewing will begin shortly before 8 p.m. and continue until midnight.

This very cool last eclipse of the year has led some conspirators to predict that a giant asteroid will hit Earth within the next six days. If you’ve heard the rumours, don’t stress it. NASA has been very clear on the possibility.

“There is no scientific basis — not one shred of evidence — that an asteroid or any other celestial object will impact Earth on those dates,” said Dr. Paul Chodas, manager of NASA’s Near-Earth Object office in Pasadena, Calif.

…who knew that NASA even had a near-Earth Object office? And don’t you love that they’re willing to answer these kinds of rumours and theories? haha