Cloudy skies could crash Sunday's lunar party

The moon, left, and Earth, top, cross the sun (colorized in gold) earlier this month as seen from a space-based observatory. The edge of Earth looks blurry due to atmospheric conditions. (Courtesy NASA/Solar Dynamics Observatory)

Cloudy skies could cast a pall on Sunday's "Supermoon" and lunar eclipse expected to begin a little after 8 p.m.

While clear skies are predicted in the northern Seacoast throughout the day, Accuweather says the clouds will begin to roll in around 8 p.m., just minutes before celestial showtime.

If the weather holds up, sky gazers can witness an eclipse cast into shadow a moon that will look closer than usual. The phenomenon begins at 8:11 p.m., with the total eclipse starting at 10:11 p.m. and peaking at 10:47.

It'll be the first time in more than 30 years that the dual phenomenon has occurred. The next time won't be till 2033.

The full moon will appear bigger than usual because of the close proximity of its orbit around Earth. This combined with a lunar eclipse is a celestial anomaly that last happened in 1982.

Weather permitting, it will be visible from North America, South America, Europe, Africa, parts of West Asian and eastern Pacific.

Since the moon doesn't emit its own light, it reflects light it receives from the sun. During a lunar eclipse, the moon appears less bright as sunlight is blocked by the Earth's shadow. As totality approaches, sunlight reaches the moon indirectly and gives it a reddish or dark brown color because of the colors filtered out by the Earth's atmosphere, according to NASA. Thus, it earns the nickname "blood moon." Throughout history, an appearance of the blood moon is usually an unwelcomed happening, often coming with end-of-the-world predictions.

Even if it's cloudy you can still watch online. NASA will host a live stream to show the event. Just go to http://nasa.gov and look for the livestream Supermoon feed.