Most nights, if the moon is clear, the celestial body hanging in the night sky, shines with a bright silver aura.
This can be an attractive view, especially when the moon is complete and unforgettable by clouds. But this is not something like what hundreds of millions of Americans will have the chance to see next month in the first common lunar eclipse in nearly three years.
That night, the moon will appear here on Earth to turn a striking rusty color when it is aligned with our planet and the sun. When this happens, the moon goes into the shadow of the Earth as a shift of colors, which gives it the nickname “blood moon”.
The upcoming Total Lunar Eclipse, the first of November 2022, will also coincide with this year’s Full Worm Moon, the third and last full moon of winter.
Here’s what you know about a total lunar eclipse, including when and how to see the next one.
What is a total lunar eclipse and what does it look like?
The full moon is entirely in the earth’s shade and shines with a gloomy orange color during a general lunar eclipse, taken early in the morning on January 21, 2019. Another general eclipse of the moon, apparently from the Southeastern United States, comes on March 14, 2025.
The lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes into the shadow of the earth, while aligning it to our planet and the sun.
When the moon is imperfectly covered by the earth’s shade, as our planet passes between our natural satellite and the sun, it produces a partial lunar eclipse – like the one that took place in September. In a total lunar eclipse, the whole moon moves to the most gloomless part of the earth’s shade called Umbra, completely blocked it from the sun, according to NASA.
While the moon will be weaker than usual, its surface will also have a striking reddish-orange hue for a few hours, creating a breathtaking view in the night sky as it moves through the constellations Leo and Virgo.
What is a blood moon?
Due to the color -changing phenomenon, lunar eclipses are often called “blood moons”.
The process that produces the red or orange shine is the same one that makes our sky blue and our sunsets red, according to NASA.
As the light reaches the Earth’s atmosphere, it is scattered in all directions of gases and particles in the air.
Because the blue light is relatively easily scattered, so our sky appears in this color most of the time. The reddish light that travels more directly in the air is manifested by grounding observers during sunrise and sunsets when the sun is close to the horizon and its input light travels longer, low angles through the earth’s atmosphere.
This is similar to what is happening during a general lunar eclipse, when any sunlight that is not blocked by our planet is filtered through a thick part of the earth’s atmosphere of the way to the moon’s surface.
“It is as if all the sunrises and sunsets in the world are designed on the moon,” NASA explains.
When is the common lunar eclipse?
The common lunar eclipse will be visible in the United States on the night of March 13-14.
The time and date of the website predict that the moon will complete all phases of the eclipse in 6 hours, 3 minutes.
If you live in the United States, you can see the eclipse beginning around 11:57 pm EST when the Penumbral phase begins when the moon enters the outside of the shadow and begins to darken finely, according to NASA.
At 1:09, a partial eclipse begins when the moon enters the Earth’s Umbra and begins to darken. On the naked eye, the moon should look like it is removed from the bite from the moon disk.
The same occurs at 2:26 am when the whole moon is under Umbra. This is when the reddish shades of the “blood moon” will be exposed.
As the moon comes out of the Umbra by about 3:31, the red color will fade and another bite -like display will appear, this time on the other side of the moon. It is assumed that the whole eclipse process will end by 6am, as the moon slowly comes out of the Earth’s penisbra, NASA explains.
Where and how to see the general lunar eclipse in March
Viewers examine a general lunar eclipse in 2022 in Eugene, Oregon. The lunar eclipse arises when the Sun, Earth and Moon align so that the moon passes into the shadow of the earth. In a common lunar eclipse, the whole moon falls into the most darkened part of the earth’s shadow called Umbra.
While the lunar eclipses are relatively rare, when they happen, they are visible for a whole half of the earth.
For this eclipse, the Western Hemisphere will be treated with the view, including all over North America. For those in the United States, this means that all smaller 48 countries must have an opinion. The common lunar eclipse will also be visible in South America and the western parts of Europe and Africa.
Although you do not need special equipment to observe the phenomenon, astronomers insist that the view will be even better with telescopes and binoculars. Nevertheless, the dark environment is far from the bright urban lights creates the best visual.
Time and date provide more detailed information about where and when to see the eclipse.
When is the next common lunar eclipse?
According to NASA, another common lunar eclipse will not be seen in the United States until March 2026.
Eric Lagata covers the destruction and the trend for the USA Today. Reach it at elagatta@gannett.com
This article originally appeared in USA Today: Total Lunar Eclipse comes in March 2025: How to see it in the US