This week's "blood moon" comes as a total lunar eclipse makes for a stunning display in the night sky -- and Illinois will be able to see it all unfold.
The total eclipse will flush the moon red Thursday night into Friday morning across the Western Hemisphere.
“This is really an eclipse for North and South America,” said astronomy expert Michael Faison from Yale University.
So when can you see it, will it be visible in the Chicago area and what else should you know?
What is a total lunar eclipse?
Lunar eclipses happen when the moon, Earth and sun align just so. The Earth casts a shadow that can partially or totally blot out the moon.
In a total eclipse, the moon passes into the “umbra,” the term for the darkest part of Earth’s shadow. Since the Earth isn’t big enough to completely block the light coming from the sun, only a little bit of light gets through, casting an orange or red hue onto the lunar surface, creating what’s known as a “Blood Moon.”
Local
The full moon blushes coppery red as stray bits of sunlight filter through Earth's atmosphere.
During a partial lunar eclipse, Earth's shadow appears to take a bite of the moon.
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Lunar and solar eclipses happen anywhere from four to seven times a year, according to NASA. A partial lunar eclipse graced skies in the Americas, Africa and Europe last September and the last total lunar eclipse was in 2022.
What time is the total lunar eclipse?
According to NASA, the eclipse will begin late in the evening of Thursday, March 13, and will reach totality on the morning of Friday, March 14.
NASA reports the eclipse will begin slightly before 11 p.m. CT on Thursday as the moon’s surface will slowly start to darken.
Just after midnight, a partial eclipse will begin, with a noticeable “chunk” of the moon’s surface becoming blocked out by the Earth.
The so-called blood moon will be visible for about an hour starting at 1:26 a.m. CT on Friday as appears reddish or orange in color. That phenomenon will be visible with the naked eye or via a telescope if skies are clear.
Peak viewing will be close to 2 a.m. CT.
The total eclipse will last for just over one hour and will end at approximately 2:31 a.m.
How to see it
To see it, venture outside and look up — no need for eclipse glasses or any special equipment.
“As long as the sky is clear, you should be able to see it,” said Shannon Schmoll, director of Abrams Planetarium at Michigan State University.
Why does the moon appear red or orange during an eclipse?
While the sun’s light appears to be white, it’s actually made up of a variety of colors, which can either diffuse in Earth’s atmosphere or travel more directly through that atmosphere, depending on each type of light’s wavelengths.
During daylight hours for example, the Earth’s sky appears blue because that is the type of light that diffuses the most in the atmosphere.
Later in the day when the sun’s light isn’t traveling as directly through the atmosphere, the sun tends to take on more of an orange or red color, because those types of light travel more directly and don’t diffuse as much.
The same phenomenon occurs during a lunar eclipse, according to NASA. The light that isn’t blocked by the Earth travels in a more direct path, thus allowing that red or orange light to hit the moon’s surface.
When is the next lunar eclipse?
If you miss out, mark your calendar for Sept. 7. Another total lunar eclipse will sweep across parts of Asia, Africa, Australia and Europe. Parts of the Americas will get their next taste in March 2026.
History of eclipses
Civilizations have viewed and interpreted lunar eclipses for thousands of years. Ancient people knew more about the celestial bodies than we give them credit for, said historian Zoe Ortiz.
“They were looking at the night sky and they had a much brighter vision than we do today,” said Ortiz with the University of North Texas.
Aristotle noticed that the shadow the Earth cast on the moon during a lunar eclipse was always curved, observations proving that the Earth is round.
And a civilization in ancient Mesopotamia saw the blood red moon as a bad omen for the king. The people installed a substitute king on the throne around the time of the eclipse to protect their ruler from any bad will.
“If there's ever a movie plot,” said Ortiz, “that's the one.”
