Blood Worm Moon: Total Lunar Eclipse set to delight two Virginia's Thursday Night
GHENT, WV (WVNS) — A lunar eclipse will fall across North America Thursday night, March 13th through dawn Friday, March 14th.
The March Full moon, known as the Worm Moon according to the Old Farmer's Almanac, comes at a time of year when winter is ending and spring begins. Folklore points the March full moon being the closest to the earthworms arrival and dates back to the late 1700s.
What makes the Worm Moon special this year is its position behind the Earth. The path of the moon the night of Thursday, March 13th will take it through our shadow for a total lunar eclipse. When the moon ducks behind our shadow, we can watch the phases of the moon in just a few hours instead of over a whole month.
Unlike a solar eclipse, like in April 2024, when the moon shadow is cast on the Earth surface, a lunar eclipse is when the Earth's shadow is cast upon the moon. Beginning at 11:57 pm, Thursday, March 13th the moon will encounter our shadow where the Penumbral Eclipse Begins.
The Penumbra is a part of our shadow where the Earth only partially covers the sunlight. An area where some sunlight will still light up the moon but you'll notice a dimmer appearance.
Once the moon begins to enter the umbra or part of the shadow where all light is blocked, around 1:09am Friday, March 14th, we'll see our shadow move across the moons surface. From a full moon phase to half then crescent moon in just over an hour as the moon slips behind us.
When the moon is completely within the umbra, totality will occur at 2:26 am and last through 3:31am. During this time, sunlight is still passing through our atmosphere and as it does blue light is scattered more by the chemical make up of our atmosphere (oxygen, nitrogen, argon, and CO2) . The reason why our sky appears more blue to us on the surface is because this blue light is reflected more. As the light leaves earth it leaves some blue light behind. As this red shifted light passes through the atmosphere, it'll find the moon in our shadow changing its appearance to a dark, ruby red for just over an hour.
As the moon moves out of the umbra, we'll once again see the sunlight hit the moon as the phases work in reverse. From a crescent back to half, and ending as a full moon ending the eclipse at 4:47am. The moon will appear slightly dim until it exits our shadow completely at 6 am. By this time, the moon will be low on the western horizon with moonset time at 7:41am.
At least the forecast is looking to be in our favor with more clear skies than not. A few clouds but overall, great viewing weather. With the warmer than average days, our nights won't be a chilly making this lunar eclipse one to get out for! If you do manage a snag a photo, be sure to share it with us on our Weather Together Album!
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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