Early Wednesday morning, Iowa City residents will be able to view a rare super-blue moon eclipse. This eclipse will occur during a blue moon, which happens when four full moons occur during a calendar quarter.

“The moon is usually out of the way and never eclipsing,” said James Wetzel, a University of Iowa adjunct assistant professor of physics/astronomy.

However, on Wednesday it will move into just the right spot. The eclipse will occur during a super-moon, when the moon’s orbit is closest to Earth, so it will appear to be larger than usual.

Wetzel noted that the moon will look even bigger when it’s low on the horizon because of optical effects.

Additionally, the moon will glow a reddish hue.

“That redness is actually from all of the sunrises and all of the sunsets from the Earth being cast on the moon,” Wetzel said. “It’s a little poetic, so I like that.”

Midwesterners wanting to view this event will have to set their alarms pretty early.

“From about 4:50 a.m. to about 7:30 a.m., it’s going to be visible,” Wetzel said.

The full eclipse will begin around 6:50 a.m. However, the forecast for Wednesday is cloudy, which could impede visibility.

A live feed of the moon will be available through NASA at 4:30 a.m. CST.

— Elly Woods