A total lunar eclipse — or blood moon — will be visible in the U.S. starting in the late hours of March 13 and going into the early hours of March 14.
In a video from The Associated Press, Jackie Faherty from the American Museum of Natural History explains that a total lunar eclipse is when the sun, Earth and moon are all perfectly aligned with the moon passing into the shadow of the Earth, causing it to “turn a deep red-orange color.”
The video shows previous examples of this happening to the moon in 2008 and 2022.
“A total lunar eclipse is an extremely easy thing to watch,” Faherty says in the video. “You don’t need any aid to your eye, the most important thing you need is an unobstructed view of the sky.”
When is the best time to view the eclipse?
According to a video made by NASA, at 10:55 p.m. MDT the moon will enter deep penumbral, which is the part of the Earth’s shadow where the sun is only not entirely covered by the Earth.
The moon will then be halfway into umbra — the part of the Earth’s shadow where the sun is completely covered by the Earth — at 11:47 p.m. MDT and reach total lunar eclipse starting at 12:26 a.m. MDT, lasting till 1:31 a.m. MDT.
The total lunar eclipse — when the moon is completely covered from the sun by the Earth‘s shadow — will last about 65 minutes, while the total time it takes for entire eclipse to happen is three hours and 38 minutes, according to USA Today.
Where is the best place to see the blood moon?
The lower Great Lakes and Ohio Valley, along with the Central Plains and the state of Texas will all have the best sky conditions to view the celestial event, according to Space.com.
Unfortunately, due to storms and other weather conditions, various stretches across the country will have cloud coverage, causing an obstructed view.
For a more accurate understanding of what the weather conditions will be near you, check updates from your local weather forecast.
When was the last blood moon?
The last time a total lunar eclipse happened was in November 2022, according to NASA.
The moon passes through Earth’s shadow only twice a year, according to Forbes, because of the tilt of the moon’s orbit. If it didn’t have a tilt, a total lunar eclipse would happen every month.
So if you happen to miss the blood moon tonight, USA Today reported that the next time a total lunar eclipse will be visible in the U.S. won’t be until March 3, 2026.
There will be 14 lunar eclipses — nine of which will be visible in the U.S. — that will occur from 2025 to 2030.