Harvest Moon Lunar Eclipse 2016: When and Where to Watch It?

A once-in-a-lifetime event is set to occur this month. September's full moon, also called Harvest Moon, will coincide with the penumbral lunar eclipse. It will occur on Friday, Sept. 16. Where and when can you get to watch this phenomenal natural event?

Thanks to the Slooh Community Observatory, you can watch the Harvest Moon Lunar Eclipse wherever you are in the world. The live feed will be made available at Slooh.com starting 12:45 pm EDT. This four-hour webcast includes live streaming from the telescopes in the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Western Australia and Europe.

For those in Europe, it'll be easy to view the penumbral eclipse. The best views of this year's eclipse will be clearly visible across Australia, Africa, the Western Pacific basin and Asia. For a detailed chart, EclipseWise.com offers the time the eclipse will occur at your exact location.

Paul Cox, an astronomer from Slooh, will be explaining the science behind the penumbral lunar eclipse. While Eric Edelman, another astronomer from Slooh, will explain the different types of eclipses. Unlike a total eclipse, the penumbral lunar eclipse is less dramatic.

"They'll discuss the different names the September Moon has been given by different cultures, and delve into some of the cultural stories and traditions surrounding the Harvest Moon, and the annual harvests associated with it," stated Slooh representatives.

Officially, the penumbral eclipse will start at 12:54 pm EDT and end at 4:54 pm EDT. At around 2:54 pm EDT, the deepest part of the eclipse will be visible. This has a strong penumbral eclipse magnitude of 0.9080 which lasts a minute shy of four hours.

Though this harvest moon lunar eclipse won't be as flashy as the blood moon eclipse, it is definitely one to watch as the next harvest moon eclipse is scheduled for 2024. As for the Eastern Hemisphere, the next lunar event is on Jan. 31, 2018, which will feature a total eclipse of the moon.