Skywatchers are in for a treat this week when a full moon, a supermoon and a total lunar eclipse occur on the same day — a rare lunar trifecta, according to NASA.
The celestial spectacle will take place before dawn Wednesday, when the biggest and brightest full moon of the year turns rusty red as it slips completely into Earth's shadow.
Weather permitting, the total lunar eclipse will be visible across the Western United States, western Canada, Mexico, much of Central America, parts of South America and Asia along the Pacific Rim.
"Folks in Hawaii and the Aleutian Islands will get to see the entirety of this eclipse — it will be quite a show for them," Bill Cooke, who leads NASA's Meteoroid Environments Office in Huntsville, Alabama, said in a statement.
The eclipse coincides with a "supermoon," a full moon at its closest point to Earth in its elliptical orbit. The May full moon is sometimes known as the "flower moon" in traditional folklore because it's typically at a time of year when spring flowers emerge.
