Total Lunar Eclipse Turns the Moon Red Before Dawn Across North America

A total lunar eclipse will color the Moon a coppery red in the hours before sunrise on Tuesday, the only total lunar eclipse visible from North America this year. The Moon will pass through Earth’s shadow overnight into March 3, and it can be watched with the naked eye. NASA says lunar eclipses are “safe with the naked eye,” FOX 5 New York reported, adding that binoculars or a small telescope can enhance the view.

The timeline, in Eastern time per FOX 5 New York, begins with the faint penumbral phase at 3:44 a.m. The partial eclipse starts at 4:50 a.m., totality begins at 6:04 a.m. and ends at 7:03 a.m., and the whole event finishes around 9:23 a.m. That gives roughly 59 minutes of totality. Discover Magazine, citing NASA, put totality at about 6:04 to 7:02 a.m. Eastern.

Where you live changes what you see. On the East Coast the Moon sets during totality, so viewers need a clear western horizon, according to Discover and FOX 5. On the Pacific Coast the Moon stays up for the full hour, Discover said. Discover said the eclipse is visible across North America, parts of the Pacific, Australia and eastern Asia.

The color comes from Earth’s atmosphere. During an eclipse, the planet blocks direct sunlight from the Moon, but sunlight that skims through Earth’s air is bent onto the lunar surface. The atmosphere scatters blue light and lets red and orange light through, so the Moon takes on an orange or red tint, Discover explained. FOX 5 described it as the light of all of Earth’s sunrises and sunsets falling on the Moon. Dusty air, such as after a volcanic eruption, can make the Moon look darker, even reddish-black, Discover said.

“A blood moon is always full, but full moons are only rarely blood moons,” Discover’s RJ Mackenzie wrote. Discover noted that the total eclipse is also known as a blood moon.

Both outlets framed it as a last chance for a while. Discover called it the final opportunity before 2029, while FOX 5 said it is the last total lunar eclipse until late 2028.