13-03-2025
'It's something special': WNY will see a total lunar eclipse early Friday morning
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Lunar eclipses are a natural phenomenon that happen once or twice a year, but once in a blue moon (figuratively speaking) you might see a total lunar eclipse.
'It's something special, it's reminding us that we're part of this dance that the Earth, Moon and Sun make to cause the shadows to line up,' said Dr. Kevin Williams, director of the Whitworth Ferguson Planetarium at Buffalo State. 'Being able to view these with our eyes instead of just seeing pictures of them makes that connection between use and the universe.
Total lunar eclipse 2025: What to expect on 3/14
Unlike last year's total solar eclipse, you won't need any instruments to view this total lunar eclipse, other than maybe an alarm clock.
'Around 1:10 in the morning, that's when the moon will pass into the main part of Earth's shadow, and that's when you'll start to really see the moon start to get darker, between 2:30 and 3:30 that's when the moon will be entirely in the Earth's main shadow, so that's pretty much the best time to watch it,' said Dr. Williams. 'As we look at the moon we're actually seeing sunlight reflecting off the moon, as apposed to looking directly at the sun like we were last year.'
Dr. Williams is the director of the Whitworth Ferguson Planetarium at Buffalo State University, and gave a preview of the Total Lunar Eclipse on Wake Up.
At the planetarium, they hold a variety of programs and events for people of all ages to learn more about astronomy and see that the night sky really looks like without light pollution.
'Once we get away from that light pollution, we can see several thousand stars, you can see the Milkyway and again it just reminds us that this is what the night sky looks like if we could get rid of the light pollution,' said Dr. Williams.
For more information on the Whitworth Ferguson Planetarium, visit their website here. To attend one of their events, click here.
Hope Winter is a reporter and multimedia journalist who has been part of the News 4 team since 2021. See more of her work here.
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