Blood moon on the rise

Night owls and early risers in North America can watch a rare type of eclipse called a blood moon on Tuesday night as the Earth’s sunset-hued shadow falls across the moon, shifting its color to bright orange in places where local weather conditions are right.

The lunar eclipse will unfold over three hours beginning at 1:58 a.m. Eastern time, when the moon begins moving into Earth’s shadow. A little over an hour later the moon will be fully eclipsed and shrouded in an orange, red or brown glow, hence the term blood moon.

Precise coloring depends primarily on the amount of volcanic ash and other matter floating in the Earth’s atmosphere, according to SpaceWeather.com.

Lunar eclipses occur two or three times a year when the sun, Earth and moon line up so that the moon passes through Earth’s shadow.

Tuesday’s eclipse will be the last full lunar eclipse visible from the United States until 2019, NASA said.

Weather permitting, the eclipse will be visible from most of the country, with the exception of New England and Alaska.

The celestial show will be over by 5:33 a.m., according to astronomers at the University of Texas’ McDonald Observatory.

Alaskans can get a view of the moon rising already partly eclipsed. From New England, the moon sets before the eclipse ends.

The eclipse also will be visible from Australia, New Zealand and all of the Americas.

NASA plans live coverage of the eclipse on NASA TV, the NASA.gov website and on its social media accounts. Coverage begins at 2 a.m. ET.

Other websites offering live webcasts and commentary of the eclipse include Slooh.com and the Coca-Cola Science Center at Columbus State University in Georgia.

Reuters