A total lunar eclipse is set for Thursday night.
The rare event happens when the moon passes within the darkest part of Earth’s shadow.
“And it doesn’t happen that often because the moon actually orbits slightly above and below the Earth’s shadow most of the time,” said James T. Keane, research scientist with NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. “But every couple of years, it punches through that shadow.”
According to NASA, millions of people across the country will be able to witness this moon marvel.
In New England, it will start at 2:26 a.m. and will last a little over an hour.
“The big thing with a lunar eclipse is because it’s slow, is I usually find it helpful to check in on it a couple times at the night,” said Keane.
As the moon is completely covered in Earth’s shadow, it will appear to change color.
“The appearance of a total lunar eclipse is very much dependent on the conditions in the Earth’s atmosphere,” said Ed Krupp, Director of Griffith Observatory. “You’re getting the light from all of the world’s sunrises and sunsets bending by the Earth’s atmosphere onto the face of the moon when it’s in totality, and that’s why it has this coppery red or so called blood color instead of being just completely black.”
Unlike solar eclipses, we’ll be able to see this phenomenon with the naked eye, no special glasses required.
“You can even bring out your binoculars and look right at the red moon if you’d like,” said Keane.
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