Here’s how and when to see the super full blue moon lunar eclipse

An impending lunar eclipse calls for viewing tips attuned to our locale, so here’s what to do to see the one Wednesday:

(1) Go to California.

It will be dark there, when the eclipse totals out at 4:52 a.m. Pacific Time, says Earthsky.org.

Back here in the East, or South, or Southeast, whatever, you may see a partial eclipse that begins at 6:48 a.m. Eastern Time, and then the sun rises at 7:35.

By the time the Earth’s shadow swallows the moon, the moon will be down and the sun will be up – on Eastern Time.

On Central Time, the eclipse is total at 6:52 a.m., so maybe you can just drive across the river to Alabama and see it from there.

“We’re in a terrible spot for it,” said Shawn Cruzen, director of Columbus State University’s Coca-Cola Space Science Center. People here can watch the eclipse live online at Space.com, he said.

People elsewhere can find a nifty tool at Earthsky.org that tells them when to see the lunar eclipse wherever they are. It’s aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/LunarEclipse.php.

So, the timing this time somewhat shortens the lunar eclipse viewing tips we usually offer here, which are:

(1) Go outside.

(2) Find the moon.

(3) Wait for clouds or light pollution to obscure it.

I have found this usually is what viewing a lunar eclipse is, in Columbus, where clouds get in the way.

Back in my 20s, some friends and I thought it would be cool to drive a pickup into a field off Biggers Road, beyond the city lights, enjoy some beverages, play Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon,” and watch a lunar eclipse.

If two out of three ain’t bad, we did OK: We drank and played Pink Floyd, but we didn’t really see the lunar eclipse, because of a thick haze in the air.

Unlike the view, my memory of this is clear because I got restless, got up and walked 30 feet or so away from the truck, staring up, as if that distance would make all the difference.

“Is the view better up there?” one of the guys sitting back in the truck bed asked, and they all laughed.

Wednesday’s lunar eclipse is supposed to be extra special, because it’s a super moon (a full moon at its closest orbit to Earth), and a blue moon (the second full moon in a month).

And because Earthlings other than us will see it through a filter of volcanic ash, it will be particularly red, so it will be a murderous “blood moon,” too.

So, we’re to have a super blue-blood moon. That’s a fitting omen.

According to a prophecy I got in my email from “Quantum Healer, Ascension Activator and Master Alchemist Meg Benedicte,” it is a sign, because the eclipsed moon will be in conjunction with the constellation Ceres:

“This powerful astro duo represents the growing feminine power in the global collective. The moon is maternal and nurturing, emphasizing home, safety and emotional security. Ceres, the goddess of women and nature, rules motherly love, the priestess and healer…. We are witnessing the rise of the Divine Feminine! Prepare to quantum leap to the next level of your Soul’s Ascension Plan! The planetary shift is accelerating into 5th Dimension as the old Time Matrix dissolves. Are you ready to jump into the next phase of your personal Ascension?”

I might jump into that, if I finally got to see a whole lunar eclipse for a change.

The prophecy’s mention of the 5th Dimension could be a sign – a sign that instead of playing Pink Floyd, this time, I should try a new lunar eclipse viewing strategy:

(1) Go online.

(2) Find the moon on Space.com.

(3) Play a rock medley by The 5th Dimension.

It could be the dawning of “The Age of Aquarius.”

This story was originally published January 28, 2018 at 5:38 PM with the headline "Here’s how and when to see the super full blue moon lunar eclipse."