Watch the moon turn red during a total lunar eclipse in March
NEW YORK (AP) — A total lunar eclipse will flush the moon red Thursday night into Friday morning across the Western Hemisphere.
The best views will be from North America and South America. Parts of Africa and Europe may catch a glimpse.
Lunar eclipses happen when the moon, Earth and sun align just so. The Earth casts a shadow that can partially or totally blot out the moon.
During a partial lunar eclipse, Earth's shadow appears to take a bite of the moon. The full moon is covered during a total eclipse and blushes coppery red because of stray bits of sunlight filtering through Earth's atmosphere.
Lunar and solar eclipses happen anywhere from four to seven times a year, according to NASA. A partial lunar eclipse graced skies in the Americas, Africa and Europe last September and the last total lunar eclipse was in 2022.
How to see the lunar eclipse
The so-called blood moon will be visible for about an hour starting at 2:26 a.m. Eastern on Friday morning. Peak viewing will be close to 3 a.m. Eastern.
To see it, venture outside and look up — no need for eclipse glasses or any special equipment.
'As long as the sky is clear, you should be able to see it,' said Shannon Schmoll, director of Abrams Planetarium at Michigan State University.
The setting of the moon may make it harder to see the eclipse in Europe and Africa.
'This is really an eclipse for North and South America,' said astronomy expert Michael Faison from Yale University.
If you miss out, mark your calendar for Sept. 7. Another total lunar eclipse will sweep across parts of Asia, Africa, Australia and Europe. Parts of the Americas will get their next taste in March 2026.
History of eclipses
Civilizations have viewed and interpreted lunar eclipses for thousands of years. Ancient people knew more about the celestial bodies than we give them credit for, said historian Zoe Ortiz.
'They were looking at the night sky and they had a much brighter vision than we do today,' said Ortiz with the University of North Texas.
Aristotle noticed that the shadow the Earth cast on the moon during a lunar eclipse was always curved, observations proving that the Earth is round.
And a civilization in ancient Mesopotamia saw the blood red moon as a bad omen for the king. The people installed a substitute king on the throne around the time of the eclipse to protect their ruler from any bad will.
'If there's ever a movie plot,' said Ortiz, 'that's the one.'
___
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
NASA, Pentagon push for SpaceX alternatives amid Trump's feud with Musk
NASA and Pentagon officials moved swiftly this past week to urge competitors to Elon Musk's SpaceX to more quickly develop alternative rockets and spacecraft after President Donald Trump threatened to cancel Space X's contracts and Musk's defiant response. Government officials were especially stunned after Musk responded to Trump with a salvo of his own: SpaceX would stop flying its Dragon spacecraft, a move that would leave the space agency with no way to transport its astronauts to the International Space Station. Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post. Musk later recanted his threat. But it alarmed officials at NASA, which entrusts SpaceX with the lives of its astronauts, and at the Pentagon, which relies heavily on the company to launch its most sensitive satellites. The worried reaction within space and national security agencies highlights the risks of the government's heavy dependence on SpaceX for crucial tasks, including classified missions. SpaceX, with billions of dollars in government contracts, flies people and cargo to the ISS, launches satellites for the Pentagon and develops satellites used by intelligence agencies. The concerns are compounded by the fact that its competitors have been slow to catch up, leaving SpaceX's dominance largely unchallenged and the government with few options. This account is based on interviews with a dozen people in industry and government who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about internal deliberations. One NASA official said that watching the feud between Trump and Musk play out on social media Thursday at first was 'entertaining.' But once Musk called for decommissioning Dragon, 'it turned really terrifying.' There was a similar reaction in the Pentagon, where a person said staff officers 'looked at each other and said, 'oh, it's not funny anymore.' There was a realization that we're not watching TV. This is a real issue.' Musk's behavior has worried NASA officials before. In 2018, NASA ordered an investigation into SpaceX's safety culture after Musk appeared to take a small hit of marijuana on the Joe Rogan podcast. But his sudden threat on social media to cut off NASA's access to the orbiting space station, which has cost NASA some $100 billion over its lifespan, 'crossed a line,' one former space agency official said. 'When you realize that he's willing to shut everything down just on an impulse, that kind of behavior and the dependence on him is dangerous. … I can tell you there is deep concern within NASA.' The rift between Musk and Trump was also fueled by the White House's withdrawal of Jared Isaacman's nomination to be NASA administrator. Isaacman had flown to space twice with SpaceX and was seen as closely aligned with Musk. SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment. Since Thursday's exchange, at least three commercial space companies, RocketLab, Stoke Space and Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin, have been contacted by government officials about the status of their rockets and when they might be available for government missions, according to four people familiar with the inquiries. (Bezos owns The Washington Post.) Officials at Sierra Space, which is developing a Dream Chaser spaceplane that could deliver cargo to the space station, were in a meeting with NASA officials on Thursday as the Trump-Musk feud was getting underway. 'Sierra Space stands ready to ensure uninterrupted support for the International Space Station,' Fatih Ozmen, the company's CEO, said in a statement to The Post. He added that 'NASA mentioned to us that they want diversity and do not want to rely on a single provider.' Dream Chaser 'is in final testing and integration at Kennedy Space Center,' Ozmen said. 'We are working closely with NASA leadership to fly the vehicle later this year.' The company is also working on a variant of Dream Chaser to carry astronauts, he said, 'which NASA is studying.' Musk's declaration also rattled staffers on Capitol Hill. A key congressional committee asked about the status of Boeing's Starliner space capsule vehicle, according to a person with knowledge of the inquiry. NASA intends to use Starliner to fly crews to the space station along with SpaceX's Dragon capsule. The spacecraft is years behind schedule, however, and during its first human spaceflight mission to the ISS last summer, it ran into so many problems that NASA decided it was unsafe to return to the crew with Boeing. But with Musk threatening to end Dragon, the congressional aide wanted to know when Starliner would be ready to fly again. In recent months, NASA has said little about the status of Starliner. But in response to reporters' questions, the agency issued a statement late Friday saying that it is planning for a Starliner flight to the space station 'in early 2026, pending system certification and resolution of Starliner's technical issues.' NASA is still evaluating whether the capsule would fly with astronauts on board or with cargo only. Even though he later recanted, Musk's threat to curtail NASA's use of Dragon could be damaging to a company that has been one of the government's most trusted partners, said Todd Harrison, a defense analyst at the American Enterprise Institute. 'It's almost like an embargo of the space station,' he said. 'Musk was saying he is going to cut NASA off from its own laboratory in space.' Harrison said the threat was reminiscent of Musk's refusal to activate the Starlink Internet system so that Ukraine could carry out an attack on Russian forces in 2022. That decision also prompted an outcry that the nation's defenses should not be in the hands of a single person or company. Given that SpaceX has experience operating its Starlink Internet satellite constellation, it had been considered to be a natural choice for Trump's proposed Golden Dome missile defense shield, which would rely on swarms of satellites in orbit. But Musk's threat was so impulsive that it will undoubtedly rattle defense officials, Harrison said, who would not look favorably on the 'idea that the nation's missile defenses could be held hostage to the twittering whims of Elon Musk.' For NASA's astronauts, Musk's social media post 'got very personal' because it could impact their ability to fly, said Garrett Reisman, a former NASA astronaut who previously worked at SpaceX. 'We shouldn't overreact to a fit of pique on social media. But when your hopes and dreams are tied up in this, you can't help but think, 'Oh my goodness am I going to fly in space?'' The Pentagon has recently made an effort to broaden the military and space industrial base, allowing for competition to drive down cost and increase innovation. The Space Force last year released a strategy that said the service would seek to avoid 'overreliance on any single provider or solution.' To allow more companies to vie for lucrative space contracts, the Pentagon recently created two 'lanes' of launch competitions. Lane 1 allows new entrants to bid on individual contracts to launch satellites that are smaller and not as vital; Lane 2 would be reserved for more powerful and proven rockets that would hoist satellites that cannot risk failure. SpaceX, however, has continued to dominate those missions. Its Falcon 9 rocket launches at an unprecedented cadence, while those of its competitors, including the United Launch Alliance's Vulcan, Blue Origin's New Glenn and RocketLab's Neutron, are still largely unproven. New Glenn has launched just once; Vulcan twice; Neutron not at all. And even before Musk's social media posting, the Pentagon publicly expressed worry about the pace of Vulcan's development even though it has won certification to fly national security missions. In a statement to the House Armed Services Committee last month, U.S. Space Force Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy said that contractors like ULA must 'establish a culture of accountability, and repair trust deficit to prove to the [Service Acquisition Executive for Space] that they are adopting the acquisition principles necessary to deliver capabilities at speed, on cost and on schedule.' From a legal and practical standpoint, the threats by the president and Musk would be difficult to carry out, said procurement specialists. If either the government or the company opted out, they would face major financial penalties, government procurement experts said. And if the contractor pulled out, it could affect its ability to win future contracts. Still, some had warned about Musk's foray into politics and the consequences for his companies. In an interview last year, Peter Beck, the CEO of RocketLab, which is seeking to compete for national security launch contracts, predicted that Musk's acquisition of Twitter, now X, and time at Trump's side could end up hurting his businesses. 'It certainly makes people uncomfortable,' he said at the time. 'At the end of the day, if you're delivering important national security missions, the buck stops with the CEO.' Related Content To save rhinos, conservationists are removing their horns Donald Trump and the art of the Oval Office confrontation Some advice from LGBTQ elders as WorldPride kicks off amid fears
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
SpaceX launches satellite for SiriusXM from Florida
June 7 (UPI) -- SpaceX launched SiriusXM's second new satellite into orbit from Florida early Saturday after five delays. The Falcon 9 lifted off at 12:54 a.m. EDT from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. About 8 1/2 minutes later, the first-stage booster landed on SpaceX's drone ship "A Shortfall of Gravitas" in the Atlantic Ocean. It was the eighth flight for the Falcon 9 booster, including a Crew-9 and three Starlink missions. After 33 minutes, the 4,100-pound SXM-10 satellite was sent to a geosynchronous transfer orbit high above Earth, meaning it is synchronous with the planet's rotation. It was SpaceX's 48th orbital rocket launch this year from Cape Canaveral or nearby Kennedy Space Center. Counting the California launch site, there have been 69 Falcon 9 missions with 51 involving Starlink in 2025, reported. Earlier Friday, there was a lightning warning for the area, Florida Today reported. On Dec. 5, SpaceX launched the SXM-9 for SiriusXM. In all, SiriusXM will have seven functional satellites with SXM-10's availability. Maxar Space Systems built both satellites, which beam radio and internet programming for SiriusXM's subscribers in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. The SXM-10 satellite arrived at Cape Canaveral on May 15. "This latest satellite marks another milestone in our over two-decade partnership with SiriusXM, supporting the continued evolution of their satellite radio network," Maxar posted on X. SiriusXM is planning to launch two more satellites. "SiriusXM is committed to cutting-edge technology and enhancing the proprietary satellite delivery systems that help power our audio entertainment and information service offerings," Bridget Neville, SiriusXM's senior vice president and general manager of Signal Distribution Engineering said in December, adding they "will strengthen the health of our satellite fleet for decades to come and allow our team to continue innovating far into the future." The next Falcon 9 launch of Starlink satellites is scheduled for 6:34 a.m. PDT Sunday from Vandenberg Space Force Base's pad 4E in California. In Florida, SpaceX next plans to launch the fourth Axiom private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. The Dragon mission is scheduled for 8:22 a.m. Tuesday from Kennedy Space Center pad 39A in conjunction with NASA. Axiom Space and SpaceX are planning coverage to start at 6:15 a.m. and NASA at 7:25 a.m. Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space, will command the commercial mission.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
The Classic Steak Breakfast NASA Astronauts Eat Before Going To Space
Astronauts are like athletes; they have to train for their NASA mission at hand, and that starts with what they put in their bodies. Before blasting off in a rocket headed for space, astronauts need a breakfast fit for explorers. Enter steak and eggs. This protein-rich duo became the last meal ritual for cosmo travelers when, in 1961, American astronaut Alan Shepard became the first human to leave the Earth's atmosphere aboard the Mercury spacecraft, Freedom 7, to experience those zero Gs. Low in fiber but filling and satiating, this meal doesn't disrupt the body's constitution, meaning an astronaut like Shepard can skip the bathroom for the 15 minutes it takes to reach space. This isn't necessarily the case with a tropical kale smoothie or your favorite espresso drink, thanks to the diuretic properties of this morning brew. In fact, Shepard couldn't have coffee starting 24 hours prior to liftoff. But steak and eggs wasn't Shepard's idea. It was chosen by Beatrice Finkelstein of the Aerospace Medical Laboratory and set the standard for over six decades. Today, steak eggs is still the go-to breakfast for astronauts before launching up into the heavens. Read more: 9 Meats You Should And 5 You Shouldn't Buy From Costco And Why As beloved as steak and eggs is, this culinary power couple is not uniquely American; it hails from Australia, and it is considered this country's national dish. However, it is a combo that America quickly embraced. In the 1940s, as World War II was in full swing, this decadent meal fueled the military and was adopted by the United States Marines. It was a special meal troops would wolf down before an invasion. While steak and eggs is the pregaming meal astronauts eat before leaving the ground, the food that they initially ate in space was not as lovely. Their space pantry items had to have an extended shelf life, which meant eating foods like those that have been freeze-dried or irradiated. Since those early decades, NASA's food approach has shifted, and space explorers have taken everything from pizza to a bacon sandwich; Apollo 11 astronauts ate Stouffer's meals during 'moon quarantine.' However, there is one food that generally doesn't make it into an astronaut's food supply: bread. It leaves crumbs that can wreak havoc if it gets on equipment. Instead, they opt for tortillas if they need a carb fix. Hungry for more? Sign up for the free Daily Meal newsletter for delicious recipes, cooking tips, kitchen hacks, and more, delivered straight to your inbox. Read the original article on The Daily Meal.
