What you need to know about the supermoon lunar eclipse

Shari Rudavsky | The Indianapolis Star, Indianapolis, Ind.

Show Caption Hide Caption Supermoon lunar eclipse A motion graphic showing how a supermoon lunar eclipse happens.

It almost sounds like something from a comic strip: A total supermoon lunar eclipse, also known as a blood moon. But this is for real — and it's happening Sunday night through Monday.

Here's what you need to know:

What's actually happening is a confluence of three things. The moon will be full and in its closest point in its orbit around the Earth, making it a so-called supermoon, according to Dr. David Wolf, a former NASA astronaut and "extraordinary scientist in residence" for The Children's Museum. Supermoons appear 14% larger and 33% brighter than other full moons.

YOUR TAKE:Share your view of the supermoon lunar eclipse

In addition to this, a lunar eclipse will occur. In other words, the Earth will line up directly with the sun and moon, directly between the two, Wolf said. So the "moon will completely fall in the shadow of the Earth," he said.

Because a lot of light scatters off the Earth's atmosphere, the moon will not look completely dark but have a coppery red color — hence the blood moon moniker.

It all begins on Sunday evening after dark with a partial eclipse; the total phase will commence about an hour later, said Brian Murphy, director of Butler University's Holcomb Observatory and Planetarium.

Later, the moon will begin to move out of the shadow of the Earth, and it will be totally out of the shadow by early Monday morning.

So, how rare is this?

The last time this happened was in 1982. The next time this will happen will be 2033.

Lunar eclipses, however, are not rare. Other lunar eclipses have occurred in recent years, but they've fallen at 3 or 4 in the morning.

"This one," Murphy said, "is prime time."

You can actually take a look. Unlike a solar eclipse, which should not be viewed with a naked eye as the sun is so powerful, you can stare at a lunar eclipse as long as you want and take photos should you be so inclined.

The best place to see the lunar eclipse will be anywhere on Earth where the skies are clear. The less light pollution around, the better.

And it should be easily visible to the naked eye, Wolf said. Still, to get the best view from your backyard, turn off the flood lights and train binoculars or a telescope at the sky.

Want to take pictures of the blood moon? Photo tips from Star photographer Matt Kryger

Most people think the best way to photograph a full of blood moon is with a long exposure, but that is not true. The moon and the Earth are actually moving faster than you think, and any kind of long exposure will only result in a blurry moon.

The first thing you must do is steady your camera. Use a tripod, set it on a bag of sand or bean bag, or on anything to secure the camera from moving. If you have a camera that you set your exposures manually, do that. Do not use program, aperture or shutter priority. You want to use a slow shutter speed but not a really slow one.

Set your shutter speed to 1/15th or 1/8th of a second, nothing slower than that. If you are photographing an object that is reflecting the sun's light so you can use a higher aperture, maybe f8 or f5.6 depending on the "bloodiness," or darker tint, of the super blood moon.

Secondly, make sure that you are away from any other light source. Get away from street lights and parking lots. Also, put something in the foreground. A tree, a barn, a building or maybe even a statue if there is one nearby. Putting something in the foreground will give your photo perspective, showing how big the super blood moon really appears.

Finally, shoot a lot of photos. Nowadays digital "film" is cheap, and you can afford to play around with different exposures and camera settings to get the picture you want.

Good luck!