A total lunar eclipse will occur on the night of March 13 through March 14, changing the moon's color to a haunting red over a span of 65 minutes during totality. Visible in North and South America, totality will happen between 2:26 a.m. and 3:31 a.m. EDT, while the entire eclipse will span from 11:57 p.m. to 6 a.m. EDT. The reddish color results from Rayleigh scattering, where Earth's atmosphere refracts sunlight, similar to colorful sunrises and sunsets. This celestial event is the first total lunar eclipse since 2022.
"The red is the projection of all the sunrises and sunsets onto the lunar surface," Noah Petro, Project Scientist for NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission, told Forbes. "We see it turn red not because of some mythical fire-breathing dragon, but because of the properties of the Earth's atmosphere scattering light."
Totality, the point at which the moon enters the Earth's inner shadow (umbra) and begins a visual transformation, will occur between 2:26 a.m. and 3:31 a.m. EDT.
A celestial spectacle is in store tonight that will make the moon appear an eerie shade of red.
A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth passes directly between the moon and the sun, casting its shadow fully over the lunar surface.
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