PHOENIX — It's a special weekend for space fans as the total lunar eclipse is happening this coming Sunday.
Experts like Kevin Schindler, a historian with Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, are sharing what stargazers and astronomy enthusiasts can expect.
"You can just look up and think about our place in the universe. The aurora and the feel of seeing the moon getting covered, you don't need anything special for it, anyone, they can just look up, Schindler said.
He points to the simplicity of this celestial event and explains that while the total lunar eclipse is not all that rare, they are quite unique.
"Every once in a while, the alignment is perfect to where Earth is exactly in between the two, so it blocks the sunlight from hitting the moon."
Schindler says the last one observed here in Arizona was back in November.
EN ESPAÑOL: Luna llena y el primer eclipse lunar del 2022 este fin de semana, le decimos cómo verlo en Arizona
Set your alarm for Sunday at 8:29 p.m.
Schindler says that's when the eclipse is incredibly vibrant yet ominous.
"The moon will be completely eclipsed and it'll be in totality for 84 minutes until 9:53 p.m. It's just funky and you can see why ancients were so superstitious about when this happened. They thought something bad was going to happen."
The Lowell Observatory is hosting a viewing party and closer to the valley, it's astronomy weekend at the Arizona Science Center in downtown Phoenix. Guests can enjoy a Sunday night viewing party of the total lunar eclipse.
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