Sky gazers are in for a treat Monday night, provided Mother Nature doesn’t muck up the works.
The first of four complete lunar eclipses over the next 18 months will occur early Tuesday morning. It should be visible across the nation.
According to NASA, the eclipse will begin just before midnight Tuesday with the moon ultimately turning a deep orange or red about two hours later. It should keep the ominous look for more than an hour. The color, as the moon aligns with the earth and sun, accounts for the name “blood moon.”
The eclipse technically begins at 11:53 p.m. Central time, but it should become more noticeable at 12:58 a.m. The eclipse will be at its peak, and the mood at its reddest, from roughly 2-3:25 a.m. The eclipse ends just before 5:30 a.m.
Binoculars or a telescope will be helpful in spotting detail on the moon but are not necessary to view the eclipse.
NASA has a live eclipse-related Web chat slated to begin at midnight. Visit www.nasa.gov for more information.
It’s the first complete lunar eclipse in more than two years. But if you miss it, there will be more chances. The group of four eclipses in roughly a year and a half is called a tetrad, according to NASA. The others, on Oct. 8; April 4, 2015, and Sept. 28, 2015, should also be viewable in the Western Hemisphere, according to NASA.