Wednesday morning’s full moon will host 2018’s first lunar eclipse. A lunar eclipse is when the earth passes between the sun and moon. The earth completely blocks the sunlight and casts a shadow on the moon. The shadow gives the moon a red or orange appearance.
Maine unfortunately will not be seeing a wonderful display this time around. Instead a partial lunar eclipse of only about 17% is expected around moon set (6:58 AM) Wednesday. The reason being, the partial umbral eclipse begins: 6:48 a.m. EST. The moon sets before total eclipse here Maine and the entire East Coast.
Image from sky and telescope
In addition, the full moon (8:27 am Wednesday) is also the second of the month, which is the “Blue Moon”. It’s rare to have two full moons in one month. Ever wonder where the expression “Once in a blue moon” comes from? Simply put, two full moons in one month doesn’t happen very often.
You might have also heard or read Wednesday’s full moon is a “Super Moon”. Our friends at Farmersalmanac.com have a good case why it is not a super moon. For info on that, check out this article here.