While the sunset and sunrise are glorious bookends to the night sky, sometimes the dark sky itself is extra magical. Many people love looking up at the night sky. If you have ever set up a telescope to look at the stars, the moon and the planets, you understand.  If you’ve ever pointed out the constellations to your friends or family, you understand. If you have ever gazed in wonder at how big the moon looks some nights, you understand.

Have you ever wondered why the moon looks extra big and extra bright on some nights? If it’s a full moon that looks especially big and bright, you’re probably looking at a supermoon. A supermoon is what it’s called when the moon is as close as possible to Earth during a new or full moon. When this happens, the moon can look up at 15% brighter than usual and up to 7% bigger than usual. That’s pretty significant!

The next supermoon is coming up quickly. It will occur on May 26, 2021, and it’s nicknamed the Super Flower Moon. The “flower” part of the name comes from the fact that many flowers bloom in North America during the month of May. Other nicknames for this moon include Budding Moon, Leaf Budding Moon, and Planting Moon.

This upcoming supermoon is extra exciting because it coincides with a total lunar eclipse! A total lunar eclipse happens when the Earth is directly between the sun and the moon. When this happens, the Earth casts a shadow over the moon, and the moon will appear to be a reddish color due to the shadow.

Depending on where you live, if you’re willing to get up early enough in the morning, you’ll be able to see the lunar eclipse The total eclipse will only last for 15 minutes, but there will be a partial eclipse about an hour and a half before and after the total eclipse. Watch the video below for details.

If you live in the Pacific time zone, the total eclipse begins at 4:11am, which translates to 7:11am Eastern time. No matter where you live, that’s fairly early, but we think it’ll be worth it. The moon will be fairly low towards the horizon during the total eclipse, so if there’s somewhere high or where you can see the horizon well you’ll have the best view.

Are you going to watch the eclipse on May 26?