A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow. This can occur only when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are exactly or very closely aligned (in syzygy) with Earth between the other two, and only on the night of a full moon.

Syzygy • \SIZ-uh-jee\ • noun: the nearly straight-line configuration of three celestial bodies (such as the sun, Moon, and Earth during a solar or lunar eclipse) in a gravitational system.

I crawled out of bed after maybe two hours of sleep, grabbed a blanket, and hurried out into the chilly early morn to watch the “Super Flower Blood Moon” Lunar Eclipse. The California sky was crystal clear, graciously granting front row seats to the ethereal display. The show had barely begun, but already the Moon shone big, bright, and beautiful.