On the night between March 13 and 14, skywatchers in much of the world will be able to witness a total lunar eclipse.
North and South America - as well as parts of Europe, Africa and Oceania - who either stay up late or wake up early will be rewarded with a total lunar eclipse. Also called a “blood moon” for its red hue, this celestial event will be the first total lunar eclipse since 2022.
People in North and South America will have the best view of the event, which will take place between 11:57 p.m. and 6 a.m. Eastern time. The most striking part of the eclipse - or totality, when the moon is completely red - will happen between 2:26 and 3:31 a.m. Eastern time. While viewers need special glasses to observe solar eclipses, lunar eclipses are safe to view with the naked eye.
A lunar eclipse takes place when the moon, Earth and sun align in a way that makes Earth cast a shadow over its natural satellite. However, even during totality, when the moon is completely in Earth’s shadow, our planet doesn’t entirely block the sun’s light. Red wavelengths still manage to filter through our atmosphere and reach the moon, hence the event’s dramatic nickname.
During a total lunar eclipse, “it’s as if all the world’s sunrises and sunsets are projected onto the moon,” according to NASA.
If you don't want to disturb your usual sleeping hours, here's NASA's 90 second visualisation of what you will miss. The Moon moves from right to left, passing through Earth's shadow and leaving in its wake an eclipse diagram with the times (in UTC) at various stages of the eclipse.