On Sunday, Jan. 20, Southwest Colorado will see a total lunar eclipse, weather permitting.

The partial eclipse will wax at 8:33 p.m., then become a total eclipse at 9:41 p.m., weather watcher James Andrus of Cortez said in an email. The total eclipse will last one hour and two minutes, ending at 10:43 p.m. and waning to a partial eclipse at 11:50 p.m.

On Sunday, skies in Southwest Colorado are expected to be partly cloudy.

A total lunar eclipse occurs when the sun, Earth and moon are aligned along the same line of sight. Earth comes between the sun and moon, and casts its shadow over the moon as it orbits Earth.

The moon appears red or orange as Earth’s atmosphere filters solar light except for the red of the solar spectrum, as if at sunrise or sunset.

Seen from the moon, sunlight appears as a glowing red ring around the edge of the black disk of Earth.

“Future occupants of a lunar colony would see an absolutely amazing sight which would appear as a total solar eclipse from their perspective,” Andrus said. “Here’s hoping for cooperation from the weather gods and a clear sky that Sunday evening!”