Here's your reminder to get ready for a partial lunar eclipse and supermoon, all rolled into one. The spectacle will be visible in clear skies across North America and South America on Tuesday night, and in Africa and Europe on Wednesday morning, per the AP.
- A partial lunar eclipse happens when the Earth passes between the sun and moon, casting a shadow that darkens a sliver of the moon and appears to take a bite out of it. The partial eclipse begins at 8:41pm ET, maxes out at 10:44pm, and ends at 12:47am, per Space.com.
- Because the full moon (September's is known as the harvest moon, per the Washington Post) will inch closer to Earth than usual, it will appear a bit larger in the sky. The supermoon is one of three remaining this year. "A little bit of the sun's light is being blocked, so the moon will be slightly dimmer," Valerie Rapson, an astronomer at the State University of New York at Oneonta, tells the AP.