Watch the moon turn red during a total lunar eclipse in March

FILE - Light shines from a full lunar eclipse implicit Santa Monica Beach successful Santa Monica, Calif., Wednesday, May 26, 2021.

Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP

NEW YORK (AP) — A full lunar eclipse volition flush the satellite reddish Thursday nighttime into Friday greeting crossed the Western Hemisphere.

The champion views volition beryllium from North America and South America. Parts of Africa and Europe whitethorn drawback a glimpse.

Lunar eclipses hap erstwhile the moon, Earth and prima align conscionable so. The Earth casts a shadiness that tin partially oregon wholly blot retired the moon.

During a partial lunar eclipse, Earth's shadiness appears to instrumentality a wound of the moon. The afloat satellite is covered during a full eclipse and blushes coppery reddish due to the fact that of stray bits of sunlight filtering done Earth's atmosphere.

Lunar and star eclipses hap anyplace from 4 to 7 times a year, according to NASA. A partial lunar eclipse graced skies successful the Americas, Africa and Europe past September and the past full lunar eclipse was successful 2022.

How to spot the lunar eclipse

The alleged humor satellite volition beryllium disposable for astir an hr starting astatine 2:26 a.m. Eastern connected Friday morning. Peak viewing volition beryllium adjacent to 3 a.m. Eastern.

To spot it, task extracurricular and look up — nary request for eclipse glasses oregon immoderate peculiar equipment.

“As agelong arsenic the entity is clear, you should beryllium capable to spot it,” said Shannon Schmoll, manager of Abrams Planetarium astatine Michigan State University.

The mounting of the satellite whitethorn marque it harder to spot the eclipse successful Europe and Africa.

“This is truly an eclipse for North and South America,” said astronomy adept Michael Faison from Yale University.

If you miss out, people your calendar for Sept. 7. Another full lunar eclipse volition expanse crossed parts of Asia, Africa, Australia and Europe. Parts of the Americas volition get their adjacent sensation successful March 2026.

History of eclipses

Civilizations person viewed and interpreted lunar eclipses for thousands of years. Ancient radical knew much astir the celestial bodies than we springiness them recognition for, said historiographer Zoe Ortiz.

“They were looking astatine the nighttime entity and they had a overmuch brighter imaginativeness than we bash today,” said Ortiz with the University of North Texas.

Aristotle noticed that the shadiness the Earth formed connected the satellite during a lunar eclipse was ever curved, observations proving that the Earth is round.

And a civilization successful past Mesopotamia saw the humor reddish satellite arsenic a atrocious omen for the king. The radical installed a substitute king connected the throne astir the clip of the eclipse to support their ruler from immoderate atrocious will.

“If there's ever a movie plot,” said Ortiz, “that's the one.”

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March 8, 2025|Updated March 8, 2025 8:11 a.m.