Supermoon and total lunar eclipse expected on Sept 27

Citizens from North, Central and South America will witness a rare “supermoon” in combination with a total lunar eclipse on September 27, according to the NASA.

The NASA explained this phenomenon in a news release.

"Because the orbit of the moon is not a perfect circle, the moon is sometimes closer to the Earth than at other times during its orbit," said Noah Petro, deputy project scientist for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "When the moon is farthest away it’s known as apogee, and when it’s closest it’s known as perigee. On Sept. 27, we’re going to have a perigee full moon—the closest full moon of the year."

At perigee, the moon is about 31,000 miles closer to Earth than at apogee. That distance equates to more than once around the circumference of Earth. Its looming proximity makes the moon appear 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter in the sky than an apogee full moon, which sparked the term "supermoon."

"There’s no physical difference in the moon," Petro said. "It just appears slightly bigger in the sky. It’s not dramatic, but it does look larger."

The eclipse is expected to begin in the evening of Sept. 27 in North, Central and South America. However, in Europe, South/East Asia, Africa, the Arctic, and in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, it starts on Sept. 28, and can be observed before the sun rises.

This eclipse is sometimes called a Blood Moon for its red glow.