Blood red 'supermoon eclipse' is set to grace the skies - here's how YOU can see it

Next week's full moon will will be putting on a show next week as the Harvest supermoon will appear 14% larger in the night sky. Astronomy enthusiasts should prepare their telescopes on Sept. 17 as not only will the moon appear larger it the lunar surface will shine a blood red color. Thus happens when the only sunlight being illuminated on the moons surface passes through the earths atmosphere. This will also result in a result in a partial eclipse with part of the moon being shrouded in darkness.

The moon will be visible starting at around 7 p.m. ET and the eclipse will begin to appear around 8:41 p.m. and will continue until just after midnight.

The supermoon phenomenon occurs when the moon is at it's closest distance to Earth in it's orbit , 'perigee' which is about 226,000 away. The moon is on average 238,900 miles away from our planet. The closer the moon is too Earth, the brighter it appears to us. The moon reaches it's 'perigee' during every orbit around Earth which takes about 27 days. But the supermoom only occurs about three to four times per year.

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According to NASA's website a supermoon is categorized as when the moon comes within at 90% of it's 'perigee.' The Harvest moon gets it's name from early American agriculture and the additional illumination the moon provided allowed for extra time to harvest fall crops.

The harvest moon occurs at this time every year and although farmers no longer rely on the moon's illumination for harvesting, the name has endured. This harvest moon is unique as it coincides with a lunar eclipse, which happens during the full moon pahse four-to-seven times per year.

The lunar eclipse, like the solar eclipse requires an alignment of the sun, the Earth and the moon resulting in the sun's rays being blocked on the moon's surface. The alignment of the earth's shadow with the lunar surface causes the dimming effect of the traditional full moon brightness, which can result in orange and red hues.

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The next lunar eclipse is expected to take place on March 14 2025 just before the spring equinox.

Viewers can use their smartphone camera to view the moon clearer by activating night mode and turning off their flash. This will allow viewers to zoom in on and enlarge the details of the already huge supermoon.