How to watch the 'blood moon' total lunar eclipse
Stargazers will get a sight to behold this March as a "blood moon" total lunar eclipse is on the horizon.
The total lunar eclipse featuring a "blood moon" will appear in the night sky on the evening of March 13 and into the early morning of March 14.
According to Dr. Angela Speck, a professor of astrophysics and department chair for physics and astronomy at The University of Texas at San Antonio, the "blood moon" total lunar eclipse will be visible across the U.S. and no special equipment will be necessary to view it.
Find out more about the "blood moon" lunar eclipse below.
There are three types of lunar eclipses – a penumbral, partial, and total lunar eclipse.
Penumbral lunar eclipses are not very noticeable and occur when the moon passes through the Earth's penumbra, or the "faint outer part of its shadow," according to NASA.
With partial lunar eclipses, part of the moon might look like it's missing, according to Speck.
"You've got a nice, crescent C-shape," said Speck. "This looks more like something took a bite out of [the moon]."
September's full Supermoon will be a partial lunar eclipse: What to know
When it comes to a total lunar eclipse, the visibility of the moon shifts even more.
"A total lunar eclipse is when the moon gets between the Earth and the sun and it does so in such a way that it blocks nearly all the light from the sun," Speck explained. "It's a little bit weird because actually, we do get some light that gets to the moon but basically, a full moon gets completely blocked out."
According to NASA, the next total lunar eclipse will fall on the night of March 13 and stretch into the early morning hours of March 14 in the U.S. and time zones where it's nighttime.
The totality of the lunar eclipse will begin around 2:26 a.m. ET and end around 3:31 a.m. ET and overall the eclipse will span between 11:57 p.m. ET until 6 a.m. ET, according to NASA.
Fast facts about lunar eclipses
Speck likens the "blood moon" appearance to that of the rock band Pink Floyd's famous 1973 "Dark Side of the Moon" album cover.
"You've got this light. It hits the prism and out the other side, comes the rainbow. And so that light is bent by going through the glass. The same thing happens with the light going through the Earth's atmosphere," Speck said. "As the light comes past the Earth, it's going through the atmosphere at those edges but it's getting bent, just like it does on that album cover. It's getting bent and the red light hits the moon."
Another way to think of the "blood moon," according to Speck, is to think of all the red light from sunrises and sunsets becoming visible at the same time.
"One of the nicest ways I've heard of it expressed that I think is really cool, is that because of where it's happening … the sunlight is going through the edge of the atmosphere on either side of the Earth, that's where sunrise and sunset are happening," said Speck. "You are seeing the light of every sunrise and every sunset on the planet reflected off the moon."
Anyone in the U.S. can view the total lunar eclipse, which will last about six hours, according to Speck.
"Most people will watch the beginning because you're watching the moon start to disappear and it's still whitish where you can still see it, and then when it's completely eclipsed and your eyes adjust and you see the red," said Speck. "Then it's going to stay red for an hour or so and then you're going to start to see the bites again and you'll start to see the moon come back."
Speck said the total lunar eclipse can be viewed in areas with street lights but she does recommend going to a darker spot if you wish to see the moon's red appearance more fully.
Lunar eclipses typically occur about twice a year or every six months but the next lunar eclipse will be viewable from Asia, according to Speck.
Another lunar eclipse will be visible in the U.S. in March 2026 but only visible from part of the U.S.
"There's one in 2028 but that'll be only about the eastern half of the country so it's the last one for awhile that the whole country gets to see," said Speck. "The next one that pretty much the whole U.S. gets to see is October 2032."
"If you're in the U.S. and you don't travel abroad to see these things, then this is your last chance for awhile, so I would definitely take advantage of it," Speck added.
How to watch the 'blood moon' total lunar eclipse originally appeared on goodmorningamerica.com
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