When And Where To See, How To Photograph The Blood Moon Total Lunar Eclipse
The blood moon total lunar eclipse happens Thursday night into Friday morning and, if the weather cooperates, the red moon could be a stunner that's especially easy to see and even photograph.
Here's what to know.
A total lunar eclipse happens when the sun, the earth and moon are positioned so that the full moon passes through the darkest part of Earth's shadow, called the umbra, which can make the moon look red-orange. That's why we call it a 'blood moon," a term that sometimes struck fear in ancient civilizations when people thought it was an omen of evil.
The last total lunar eclipse was in November 2022.
A lunar eclipse is different than a solar eclipse, which happens when the moon passes between the sun and Earth.
The eclipse is viewable anywhere in the Western Hemisphere that has clear skies, including every state in the U.S.
The moon will start to look a little different just before midnight EDT on Thursday. The eclipse will start shortly after 1 a.m. EDT Friday and totality happens between about 2:30 a.m. and 3:30 a.m. EDT.
No special equipment, including eclipse glasses, is needed to view a lunar eclipse. That's because you're not looking directly at the sun.
Telescopes and binoculars aren't necessary, but they will give you a better view. So will moving away from bright light.
Your smartphone can potentially capture great images of the blood moon total lunar eclipse, and this is where a telescope can come in especially handy.
But first, stability is key. For the best images, use a tripod or similar equipment and put your phone camera up to the telescope's eyepiece.
From weather.com senior meteorologist Jonathan Erdman:
The best chance for the least cloudiness Thursday night should be from parts of the mid-Atlantic states to the Ohio Valley and central Plains. Parts of the Florida Peninsula and Deep South Texas should also be relatively cloud-free.
However, areas of the Rockies and Great Basin from Montana and Idaho to Nevada and Arizona may have showers and higher-elevation snow to deal with.
Also, a veil of high clouds could blanket the northern tier from the Dakota to New England.
A partial solar eclipse on April 29 will block out part of the sun. It will be visible for a short time in parts of the Northeast.
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Weather.com senior writer Jan Childs covers breaking news and features related to weather, space, climate change, the environment and everything in between.
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