Everything You Need To Know About Wednesday’s Partial Lunar Eclipse In Maine

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.

 

 

Charlie Lopresti

About Charlie Lopresti

Charlie makes up the "Weather Part" of CBS News 13s evening edition. A native New Englander, he grew up enjoying the area's exciting and sometimes wild weather.