View Total Lunar Eclipse at Northwestern September 27

The public is invited to view a rare total lunar eclipse at Northwestern University on Sunday, September 27.

Weather permitting, the free public event will be held from 8 to 11:30 p.m. on the top level of the Segal Visitors Center Parking Garage, 1847 Campus Drive, according to a Northwestern news release. The eclipse begins at 8:07 p.m. and ends at 11:27 p.m. The moon will be totally eclipsed for about an hour and 12 minutes.

Three large telescopes will be set up for visitors. Faculty, postdoctoral fellows and graduate and undergraduate students from Northwestern’s Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) will be on hand to answer questions and operate the telescopes.

“This is a chance to witness how the Earth, moon and sun are all connected,” said Michael Smutko, a professor of instruction in physics and astronomy in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. “The three must be aligned to form a straight line, so the Earth’s shadow completely envelops the moon, for a total lunar eclipse.”

The next total lunar eclipse will not occur until January 31, 2018.