There's just something to be said about the secrets of the sky.

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One of the biggest secrets a night sky holds is the moon, and Chris Hattings, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Riverton, is saying that Wyoming Residents could get a clear view of a total lunar eclipse happening Sunday, May 15.

Hattings said the eclipse will be the first of two full lunar eclipses this year, with the next one occurring in November. He said that the moon will be close to perigee, which means it's closest to the earth, so the eclipse will actually appear larger than normal.

Most importantly, Hatting said that the eclipse will last "a long time." Because the moon will pass close to the center of the earth's shadow, the totality of the lunar eclipse could last as long as 85 minutes.

Hattings believes that the eclipse will begin shortly before 8:30 p.m., or 'moonrise,' on Sunday night.

"It will begin occurring shortly before moonrise, so you won't see the very beginning of it, but you will be able to see about 80% or 90% of the whole event," Hattings stated. "Totality will begin around 9:30 p.m. and last until shortly before 11:00 p.m. Partial eclipse will end shortly before midnight."

Hattings stated that for those unable to view the eclipse live, the National Weather Service will be live-tweeting the event, weather permitting. He said that they currently do not know what the weather will look like come May 15, but he will be sending out another update on the Friday before with more details.

"Happy star-gazing everybody!" he closed.

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