If you set your alarm early enough Friday morning, you'll be able to see a total lunar eclipse. The eclipse will reach totality at 2:59 a.m. and can be seen with the naked eye.
A total lunar eclipse happens when a full moon passes through Earth’s shadow, giving the moon a reddish hue.
John French is the production coordinator and editor of the Sky Calendar for Michigan State University's Abrams Planetarium. He says as the Earth absorbs sunlight, longer red wavelengths are refracted through the atmosphere and illuminate the moon as it enters its shadow.
“How deep and dark red it is varies from one eclipse to another, and that has to do with a number of different factors, how deep the moon is into the shadow, how centered it is on the shadow, also the state of the atmosphere,” said French.
The color of the moon during a total lunar eclipse can range from a dark, almost brown color to a dark red, a bright red or a muted orange.
Normally, the moon is too bright to be able to see stars surrounding it, but because it will be in shadow, those neighboring stars become easier to see.
“It's a very eerie look that you're not used to because you can see that kind of dark red moon in a starry sky, and it's really beautiful and fascinating, so that’s really the fun part of a lunar eclipse,” French said.
The moon starts to enter Earth’s shadow at 1:09 a.m. Friday morning and will exit by 3:32 a.m.
Although the duration of the eclipse is more than two hours, you will only need to leave your bed for a few minutes around 3:00 a.m. to see the best part.
French says that using binoculars or a telescope will elevate the viewing experience.
Produced with assistance from the Public Media Journalists Association Editor Corps funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.