PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Get ready, stargazers — we have our full moon for May coming up on Sunday night.
This month’s moon is nicknamed the Flower Moon. It’s going to be an exciting one because it’ll be paired with a lunar eclipse.
The moonrise is expected to occur around 8:30 P.M.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Swipe through the graphics below to get a visual understanding of how a lunar eclipse plays out. The moon moves into the earth’s shadow in this type of eclipse! What is neat is that mainly red light remains in this action, creating a tint on the moon. This is when we have a blood moon!
This is what we will be experiencing:
- Full Flower Moon
- Total Lunar Eclipse
- Blood Moon
It should be noted that due to our position in the Pacific Northwest, the eclipse will already be in motion as the moon rises. Learn more about the timing in the section below.
TIMING
Portland, Oregon (May 15, 2022)
- Partial eclipse begins: 7:27 p.m.
- Total eclipse begins: 8:29 p.m.
- Full moonrise: 8:29 p.m.
- Sunset: 8:34 p.m.
- Greatest eclipse: 9:11 p.m. (5 degrees SE)
- Total eclipse ends: 9:54 p.m.
- Partial eclipse ends: 10:55 p.m.
FORECAST
The viewing for the full moon and the total lunar eclipse looks to be limited. The moon will be low on the horizon and we are anticipating some clouds in the forecast. That will likely prevent most of the views around the Willamette Valley and even points of central and eastern Oregon. There is still some hope that there may be a brief window or some broken clouds to get a glimpse. Check in with the evening forecast on Sunday!
According to OMSI Director of Space Science Education Jim Todd, there will be a second total lunar eclipse later this year! It will occur on November 8, 2022, at 2:59 A.M. This should be able to be viewed across North America and most of the world.