What Would a Supermoon Eclipse Be Like on the Actual Moon?

Tonight, millions of skywatchers will witness a rare and stunning astronomical event—a total lunar eclipse coinciding with the Moon's perigee or "supermoon" phase. Not only will the Moon be completely occulted as it passes through Earth's shadow, its surface will also appear 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than it would during a normal full moon.

Enlarged and tinted red, the Moon should be an eerily beautiful sight tonight, visible from the Americas all the way to the Middle East, weather permitting. In addition to dominating the night skies, the supermoon will also exert a larger-than-normal gravitational force on Earth and its denizens as it makes its closest pass with our planet. Tides will be higher over the coming days, prompting warnings of increased flood risk in low-lying areas.

Clearly, this kind of celestial confluence exerts measurable effects on our planet, not to mention it provides a fantastic view to fawn over. But is the reverse also true? Is a supermoon eclipse as visually stunning and tidally influential from the Moon's perspective as it is from the POV of Earthlings?

As it turns out, scientists have been studying this question for decades, and they've discovered that lunar eclipses have an incredibly dramatic impact on the Moon. The biggest factor is the dizzying thermal nosedive caused by the temporary blockage of solar radiation on the Moon's surface.

This temperature drop was first measured at the Apollo 12 and Apollo 14 landing sites during a total lunar eclipse in 1971. Before and after the eclipse, both sites hovered around 150 degrees Fahrenheit, but during the occultation, surface temperatures dropped to about minus 150 degrees Fahrenheit. Since then, temperatures oscillations of over 500 degrees have been recorded on the Moon during eclipses.

As if this kind of temperature drop isn't disruptive enough, it may be accompanied by a thermal shockwave. The sudden loss of sunlight and energy can cause rocks to crumble and gas to be ejected from the Moon, according to meteorologist Joe Rao of the Hayden Planetarium.

In other words, as ominous as the supermoon eclipse may look from Earth, it sounds as if it's even freakier from the POV the Moon. If humans do ever establish crewed bases on the lunar surface, eclipses won't be opportunities to snap some good photos—they will be otherworldly disruptions. Even the view from the Moon is much more intense, resembling a total solar eclipse.

For millennia, humans were frightened by lunar eclipses and supermoons, and no doubt were particularly intimidated when they overlapped. But from our vantagepoint in the 21st century, one thing is clear—these events are a lot more fun to watch from Earth. Sure, there will be floods and alleged werewolves. But at least we don't have to pack for a 500-degree temperature change.