A super blood wolf moon will be visible Sunday, Jan. 20. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
A Super Flower Blood Moon will be visible Wednesday, May 26, 2021. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Do you want a great close-up view of tonight’s lunar eclipse?

The “super blood wolf moon” eclipse will be visible throughout North America with the naked eye, but the Griffith Observatory will provide telescopes with assistance from employees and local volunteers to visitors starting at 7:30 p.m.

According to the National Geographic, “This lunar eclipse happens to coincide with the wolf moon, the traditional name for the January full moon. What’s more, the moon on Jan. 20 will be unusually close to Earth and so will be slightly bigger and brighter, making it a so-called supermoon.”

Hence the unusual moniker.

“A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes through the Earth’s shadow. The disk of the full Moon slowly moves in the dark shadow, and the bright Moon grows dim,” officials of the Griffith Observatory said in a statement.

The moon won’t go completely dark, but will glow a slightly red tint as “a result of sunlight being filtered and bent through the Earth’s atmosphere,” similar to a sunset.

Unlike a solar eclipse, eye protection is not required for viewing.

The first visible signs of the moon moving into the Earth’s shadow will be at 7:33 p.m. Sunday night. The moon will reach maximum eclipse at 9:12 p.m. and remain as such until 9:43 p.m.

No admission fee for the observatory is required. Chairs, blankets, coolers, telescopes and similar items will not be allowed onto the grounds after 3 p.m. Visit griffithobservatory.org/.

The next total lunar eclipse will not be visible in Los Angeles until May 26, 2021.