A blood moon will take to the night sky across most of North and South America on Sunday night, depending on the weather, and here is how you can catch the show.
A blood moon, or total lunar eclipse, occurs when the sun moves between the Earth and the moon, and the Earth’s shadow falls across the moon, giving it a blood-red appearance as the three are in almost perfect alignment.
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Nasa Lunar Reconnaissance mission scientist Noah Petro shared with the Wall Street Journal that, weather permitting, “It’s going to be a fun show.”
Petro shared that the lunar eclipse results in the moon turning red because the only light hitting it is what’s coming through the edges of the planet’s atmosphere, filtering out any blue light and turning it red.
There will be two lunar eclipses this year, with this one being the first total lunar eclipse in almost a year.
But if you open your window tonight and see nothing but clouds, don’t worry, as NASA has several live streams set up to promise a sweet view of the event.
The eclipse is expected to start at approximately 10:28 p.m. EDT, with the moon touching the edge of Earth’s dark inner shadow, creating a partial eclipse to start before the total eclipse begins an hour later.
NASA shared that the total eclipse will last until just before 1 a.m. on Monday morning, providing 85 minutes of the blood-red spectacle.
Those thinking they will wait and see the next total lunar eclipse this year, taking place on Nov. 8, Petro says he would take every chance to see it tonight.
“I wouldn’t say catch the next one,” he said. “If you have the chance, do it now.”
Unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses don’t require any type of glasses to view them, and telescopes or binoculars are recommended to take in the experience even more.
The eclipse will be visible for all of South America, most of North America, parts of Africa, Western Europe, the eastern Pacific, and Antarctica. Unfortunately, most of Asia and Australia will have to log on to see it as it won’t be visible there.
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