Wyoming is in the ideal location to see the May Lunar Eclipse, which will be the longest in seven years, according to a UW astronomer.

A lunar eclipse that will continue longer than any observed in the next seven years will be seen next month, according to a University of Wyoming astronomer.

On Sunday, May 15, at 10:30 p.m., the "Super Flower Blood Moon" will be seen in complete totality for around 90 minutes.

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The director of the University of Washington planetarium, Max Gilbraith, told Cowboy State Daily that this lunar eclipse will endure until at least 2029.

"One of the lovely things about a lunar eclipse is that you can see it from all around the globe," Gilbraith remarked on Thursday. "Basically, we'll watch the moon rise once the sun sets for us in Wyoming." For this eclipse, we're in the ideal time zone."

While the moniker "Super Flower Blood Moon" seems eerie and like something a comic book villain would say, each word in the nickname has a meaning.

The term "super" refers to the moon's perigee, or closest approach to Earth in its orbit, which causes it to seem bigger and brighter in the sky. When compared to usual full moons, the moon will be around 10% closer to the earth during the eclipse, according to Gilbraith.

The term "full" refers to the phase of the moon when its complete outline is visible from Earth. The term "flower" relates to the moon in May, when "May flowers" bloom following a month of "April showers."

Finally, the word "blood" refers to the moon's reddish hue when it passes through the Earth's shadow.

"The sky is blue for the same reason that lunar eclipses are crimson," Gilbraith said. "The sky appears blue because the wavelength of radiation light is shorter than that of red light, allowing it to scatter more readily in the atmosphere. The longer wavelength of red, on the other hand, bends and refracts through the Earth's atmosphere. Sunsets are crimson because of this."

A lunar eclipse as lengthy as this Super Flower Blood Moon hasn't been observed since 2018, according to Gilbraith.

"As the eclipse progresses out of totality, the moon really becomes brighter," he said. "If you want to see the full thing, you'll need patience, but it's gorgeous."