SPOKANE, Wash. — Stargazers get ready for the Lunar Eclipse this Sunday night!
The Lunar Eclipse will be visible for the entire United States and most of the western Hemisphere with "totality", the part when the moon turns red, occurring from 8:29 p.m. to 9:54 p.m. Pacific Time.
For the west coast, the partial phase of the eclipse will be underway before sunset/moonrise. In Spokane, the moonrise will start at 8:14 p.m. and the eclipse will already be 77% full! Portland's moonrise is at exactly 8:29 p.m., the moment when the eclipse begins. That'll look very cool to see the red moon rising already in totality!
The figure above shows the timing of the eclipse from first contact with the penumbra through totality. Totality lasts one hour and 25 minutes.
The weather forecast, however, doesn't look very pleasant for the Inland Northwest. There's a chance for rain and mostly cloudy conditions. It's not guaranteed it'll be a bust, but I'm not particularly optimistic.
But not to worry, lunar eclipses are not a "once in a lifetime" event. We typically see them every year or two. In fact, the next lunar eclipse is later this year - Nov. 7.