Lunar Eclipse Visible to Magic Valley Residents on Sunday
TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KLIX) – It might look like something from biblical prophecy, but you won’t have to run for the hills when it happens.
The moon will turn blood red on Sunday and Magic Valley residents will be able to see it, weather permitting.
The lunar event, called the Super Blood Wolf Moon, is the last eclipse to occur this decade. The next blood moon will happen on May 26, 2021.
The eclipse Sunday will be visible all across the country, but Idaho residents will be able to see the moment of greatest eclipse sometime in the later hours that night. The moment of greatest eclipse for Jerome residents, for instance, will be at 10:12 p.m. MST, according to Time and Date.
Totality will last 63 minutes, according to National Geographic. During the solar phenomenon, the moon will “go from a dark gray color during the partial phase of the eclipse to a reddish-orange color during totality.”
According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, January’s Full Wolf Moon got its name from the howling of wolves that traditionally could be heard in the deep nights of mid-winter in some Indian villages. A supermoon happens when the moon is within 90 percent of its closest approach to Earth. The Super Blood Wolf Moon, an optical illusion that makes the moon appear red, occurs as it passes into the Earth’s shadow.
The lunar event is the first of three supermoons this year. The next one will be on Feb. 19 and March 21. People in South America and the western parts of Europe and Africa also will be able to see Sunday’s eclipse.