Philadelphia astronomer says you don't want to miss rare "Blood Moon"
The Philadelphia region will be in for a celestial treat when a total lunar eclipse takes over the skies Thursday into Friday. This will be the first such eclipse in the area in three years.
"People should be excited to view the total lunar eclipse this evening because it doesn't happen all that often," Derrick Pitts, the chief astronomer at The Franklin Institute Science Museum, said.
The rare celestial event will turn a full moon into a reddish color often called a "Blood Moon."
"The moon appears red because when it passes through the earth shadow, the sun's light is filtered as red and that's what we see on the surface of the moon," he said.
Pitts showed CBS News Philadelphia a simulation at the museum of the moment the sun, earth and moon align to cause a lunar eclipse.
It happens when the moon passes into the earth's shadow, but during this total lunar eclipse, the entire moon will fall into the deepest part of the planet's shadow.
"The cool thing about lunar eclipses is that they are visible all across the western hemisphere. So anybody from the East Coast to the West Coast from Canada and all the way down to South America, if the sky is clear they will be able to see it tonight," Pitts said.
If you want to see it, Pitts says you may have to stay up past your bedtime because the partial eclipse is set to begin around 1 a.m.
Pitts says the entire eclipse will last for six hours, but the best part when the moon appears red will be much shorter — about 65 minutes — starting around 2:30 a.m.
Unlike solar eclipses, Pitts says this eclipse is safe to view with the naked eye.
"Why take a chance on maybe seeing the next one when you can see this one tonight," he said.
Pitts says the next time people in Philadelphia will be able to see a total lunar eclipse will be in March of next year.
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