Super Moon, Lunar Eclipse Coincide Sunday Night

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Warwick, RI – If the weather is very kind to Rhode Islanders Sunday night, sky gazers will be treated to a rare combination “super moon” and total lunar eclipse, a Supermoon Eclipse – and CCRI’s Margaret Jacoby Observatory is open to the public for the event.

Clouds threaten to obscure much of the sky Sunday night, unfortunately, according to the current weekend forecast for the area at weather.gov. However, further up, FrostyDrew.org, the website for the Frosty Drew Observatory in Charlestown, notes celestial mechanics will be arranging what sky gazers have coined a Supermoon Eclipse

This lunar eclipse will coincide with the annual lunar perigee – the point in the moon’s orbit at which it’s closest to the Earth, Frosty Drew reports. It will also be the closest of all the full moons of the year.

Additionally, the Supermoon Eclipse will feature a reddish hue, according to a video on the phenomenon on NASA.gov, posted above. That’s because, as the space agency points out, as the sun is blocked by the Earth, some red light peeks around the edges of the planet and lights the moon up with a reddish hue.

Community College of Rhode Island has invited the public to view Sunday’s total lunar eclipse from 9 p.m. to midnight at the Margaret Jacoby Observatory at the college’s Knight Campus, 400 East Ave., Warwick.

Weather permitting, visitors will be able to view the lunar eclipse through the college’s 16-inch Meade LX200R reflecting telescope under the guidance of Associate Professor Brendan Britton of the Physics Department.

The observatory is located a short walk from the main building. The road leading to the observatory is the first right turn when approaching the main college building from the driveway. Parking is available in the short-term lot near the Enrollment Services entrance.

Cloudy or rainy skies will cancel the event. For scheduling information and updates, check the observatory’s page on CCRI’s website.