Oregon Public Broadcasting

Oregonians will be in a prime location early Saturday morning to view a full lunar eclipse.

The reddish hue during the December 2010 total lunar eclipse. Getty images.

Lunar eclipses occur when the moon is directly in the earth’s shadow. The moon will be in full eclipse at 6:31 a.m. and the event will last 51 minutes.

Jim Todd is the Planetarium Manager at OMSI. He says that stargazers should take advantage of this event.

“It won’t be for a couple more years that we’re going to see another lunar eclipse. Other places gonna be able to see a lunar eclipse next year, but it won’t be Portland.”

Todd says that lunar eclipses aren’t particularly rare, but you need to be in the right part of the world at the right time to witness one.

This year the West Coast will have some of the best views of the eclipse. He recommends those who want to watch find a good angle to look toward the Northwest horizon.

The forecast for most of Oregon is partly cloudy Saturday morning.

Related:

Total Lunar Eclipse On Saturday, Western States Get Rare View