Don't Forget, This Sunday Brings A Total Lunar Eclipse That's 'Extra Special'

DENVER (CBS4) - The weekend forecast looks just about perfect to view a total lunar eclipse of the supermoon on Sunday, Sept. 27.

It will begin at 7:07 p.m, peak at 8:47 p.m. and end at 10:27 p.m. in Denver.

You can get an extra special look at the moon and other objects in the sky Sunday night at an event hosted by The Denver Astronomical Society. It takes place at the historic Chamberlin Observatory at DU. Visitors will get to look through an 1894 Alvan Clark-Saegmuller 20-inch refractor telescope for $2 per person, or $5 per family.

More information is available by clicking here.

There are several things about this particular phase of the moon that will make this celestial event extra special.

1. It's the Harvest Moon which means the full moon that occurs closest to the Autumnal equinox.

2. It's a supermoon because the moon will be at perigee, or at it's closest point to Earth during the month. According to NASA the last time we saw a total lunar eclipse of a supermoon was in 1982. It won't happen again until 2033.

3. It's a Blood Moon because the moon will turn a burnt red-orange color. During a lunar eclipse Earth is directly between the sun and the moon. Even though Earth casts a shadow on the moon, it doesn't look totally dark because of sunlight that enters Earth's atmosphere. The light gets refracted by the atmosphere and reflected toward the moon turning it a red color.

4. It's the final of a tetrad of total lunar eclipses, or a series of four, which began in April 2014.

5. It's the last lunar eclipse of 2015. The next one visible in Colorado will be a partial lunar eclipse on March 23, 2016.

Best of all, you won't have to stay up all night to catch this eclipse! We'd love to see your pictures via social media or email.

Meteorologist Chris Spears writes about stories related to weather and climate in Colorado. Check out his bio, connect with him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter @ChrisCBS4.