If weather permits, Michigan is in for a celestial show late Sunday night during the first lunar eclipse of 2022.
The moon will begin to move into the Earth’s shadow at 10:27 p.m. Sunday.
Then the total lunar eclipse will start an hour later at 11:29 p.m.
Totality will last just under 90 minutes.
John French, program assistant with the Abrams Planetarium at Michigan State University, says the moon will take on a reddish color.
“That sunlight is hitting the Earth’s atmosphere, and the longer wavelengths of light, the red, get bent into the shadow,” French said. “Exactly how dark or light that is varies from one eclipse to another.”
French says because the moon will appear dimmer, there’s a good chance you may see some stars that are otherwise obscured by its brightness.
“When the eclipse happens, it’s going to be getting close to the constellation Scorpius, so you’ll see the bright star Antares to the lower left of the moon,” he said. “So, that should be fascinating to see.”
The grandeur of the eclipse will largely depend on the weather.
Sunday night’s forecast in mid-Michigan calls for mostly cloudy skies with a chance of showers.
