If you’re willing to brave a later bedtime, you may be able to catch the blood moon lunar eclipse Sunday night.

Lexington and other parts of central Kentucky can expect best viewing of the celestial event between 9:32 p.m. Sunday and 2:50 a.m. Monday, with maximum viewing of the eclipse around 12:11 a.m.

The weekend event has been called the “super flower blood moon.” The flower portion of the name is attributed to the Indigenous Algonquin peoples, who are from what is now the northeastern U.S.

Alternate names include the Corn Moon, Corn Planting Moon and Milk Moon.

The definition of a “supermoon” is interpreted uniquely by various publications, NASA’s website says, but some groups are recognizing Sunday’s eclipse as a supermoon.

A “blood” moon refers to a total lunar eclipse.

What can I expect to see during the total eclipse?

The blood moon is the result of the sun and moon being on opposites sides of the Earth, allowing our planet to cast a shadow, known as an umbra, over the moon. The planet’s atmosphere will filter out most of the blue light, allowing the moon to appear red in color.

In a May 12 blog post for NASA, Jennifer Harbaugh writes, “As Earth’s shadow deepens on the face of the Moon, it will darken to a ruddy, red color, with its intensity depending on atmospheric interference.”

This visualization from NASA can teach you more.

In any given year, there are multiple partial eclipses, but total eclipses occur less often.

You can use a telescope to view the event but it won’t be necessary, and you should not need protective eye equipment, unlike during a solar eclipse.

Where can I watch the eclipse?

If you’d like to enjoy the eclipse from the comfort of your couch, you can check out NASA’s livestream on YouTube.

You can see another kind of supermoon June 14, when a strawberry moon will make an appearance.

This name gets its origins from the Algonquin, Ojibwe, Dakota and Lakota peoples, according to the Farmers’ Almanac. It was coined to mark the ripening of “June-bearing” strawberries.

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