West Michigan Will See a Super Flower Blood Moon This Week

The sun, earth and moon will line up just right to create a Super Flower Blood Moon. The celestial event will happen on May 26. Hang on, let me grab my tarot cards...

This will be the only total lunar eclipse of 2021 and it will last about 15 minutes. It begins at 7am. The moon will be closer to the earth and appear brighter and larger. In Michigan, we will only be able to see the beginning of the partial eclipse starting around 6 a.m. For best viewing, you'd be advised to hop on a plane and head west. For observers in the United States, the only places where the entire eclipse is visible are in Hawaii or Alaska. The Farmer's Almanac states,

"In the U.S., those who are located east of the Mississippi will experience a partial lunar eclipse before the moon sets below the horizon, and those along the East Coast won’t see much of anything, unfortunately."

The moon will have a reddish tint from sunlight filtering through Earth’s atmosphere, according to NASA, hence the “blood” moon reference. The “flower” part of the name comes from a full moon happening in the month of May. The Super Flower Blood Moon will be roughly 222,000 miles away from the Earth early Wednesday morning.

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Lunar eclipses occur when the moon is on the opposite side of the Earth as the sun. The moon is entering the Earth's shadow creating the eclipse. This will mark the first lunar eclipse of the decade.

If you'd like to see the waning and waxing phases of the moon, click here.