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Lunar Eclipse Brings 'Super Blood Wolf Moon' To Milwaukee Skies

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This Sunday night, an unusual, astronomical event will come to the sky over Milwaukee: a full lunar eclipse.

The resulting red color will remove some of the haze created by the typically bright, white moon — revealing a sea of stars and constellations. Due to the moon's color and some of its other unique characteristics, some are calling the astronomical event a "super blood wolf moon."

The "super" part of that title refers to the moon's positioning in the sky, since it is a bit closer than it typically is to the earth (this happens about three times a year). "Blood" refers to the deep red color produced by the eclipse. The "wolf" part of the title holds a special significance to the United States. 

"Long ago, the Native Americans and many people, gave names to the moons. I mean, they lived by the moon; remember, the moon's a clock, it's where our month comes from. And so they would label or describe every full moon and this one, this time of year, would be the wolf moon," says Bob Bonadurer, the planetarium director at the Milwaukee Public Museum.

The museum will be holding a viewing party for the lunar eclipse, equipped with telescopes to get a better view of the celestial event, which is expected to last about three hours from 9 p.m. to midnight. 

-1-ZM-M

Joy is a WUWM host and producer for Lake Effect.