If you’re like us at Cruzio, you get excited about planetary events. This Sunday, September 27th 2015, is a peachy one. There will be a total lunar eclipse at the same time there’s a harvest moon — the biggest moon of the year. The moon looks big when it’s close, and this is the closest it comes, or the “perigee.”  It will look 14% bigger than usual.

The moon will also look red. Here’s why.

Here’s when to look for the eclipse on the West Coast:

   Pacific Daylight Time (September 27, 2015)
   Partial umbral eclipse begins: 6:07 p.m. PDT on September 27
   Total eclipse begins: 7:11 p.m. PDT
   Greatest eclipse: 7:47 p.m. PDT
   Total eclipse ends: 8:23 p.m. PDT
   Partial eclipse ends: 9:27 p.m. PDT

Note that sunset on September 27th is supposed to occur at 6:58 pm. It won’t be fully dark for much of the event. This, plus our often-present fog, will make it less dependably spectacular than it might be in other parts of the country. If it’s too foggy to get a good look, as an alternative NASA will be streaming the event live. 

So will Sky and Telescope.

And you’ll be able to go back and look at the video afterward, if you miss it.

Here’s the visibility predicted for that day:

Fingers crossed for clear skies! See you under the moon…