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Missed Supermoon Total Lunar Eclipse? Next One Due in 2033

Skywatchers had something to howl about on Sunday: a total Supermoon eclipse. The last one was in 1982, and there won't be another until 2033.
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Skywatchers had something to howl about on Sunday: a supermoon total eclipse. Not only was it the best and last opportunity of the year for Americans to witness any kind of eclipse, but this particular phenomenon is extremely rare, happening perhaps five times a century. The last supermoon eclipse was in 1982, and there won't be another until 2033.

Image: Supermoon total eclipse as seen in New York
The supermoon total eclipse as seen in New York.Instagram.com / b911bphoto

Beginning at 8:11 p.m. Eastern (5:11 p.m. Pacific), the moon — currently full and at the closest point in its orbit, making it an extra-large, extra-bright "supermoon" — entered the shadow of the Earth, darkening it until only light refracted around the planet falls on its surface. The redness of this light gives the moon a rusty color, resulting in the nickname of this type of eclipse: a "blood moon."

The total lunar eclipse, in which the moon is completely engulfed in the center of the Earth's shadow, or umbra, began two hours later, lasting for a little more than an hour before things brightened up again.

In Los Angeles, a large crowd filled the lawn of Griffith Observatory to watch the celestial show while listening to Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" played by 14-year-old pianist Ray Ushikubo.

"You always want to see the eclipse because they're always very different," said astronomer Edwin Krupp, the director of the hilltop landmark.

Image: Supermoon in Winnipeg, Manitoba
The so-called supermoon appears behind the Golden Boy at the Manitoba Legislature during a lunar eclipse in the Canadian city of Winnipeg on Sunday.John Woods / The Canadian Press via AP