Here’s an awesome timeline for the Beaver Blood Moon lunar eclipse of Nov. 8. South Africans will have to watch it online though.
The last total lunar eclipse until 2025 will turn the moon blood-red on Tuesday, Nov. 8, but exactly when you should look up depends on where you are.
The eclipse, dubbed the Beaver Blood Moon lunar eclipse since it occurs during November’s Full Beaver Moon, will be visible across North America, the Pacific, Australia and Asia. During the eclipse, the full moon will pass through Earth’s shadow as it moves behind our planet with respect to the sun, giving it a spectacular bloody color in the process. You can watch the total lunar eclipse on Space.com for free, courtesy of several webcasts from observatories across the United States.
Tuesday’s “blood moon” eclipse will begin at 3:02 a.m. EST (0803 GMT) when the moon begins to enter the outermost region of Earth’s shadow. You’ll have to adjust the time for your time zone (it begins at 12:02 a.m. PST for observers on the U.S. West Coast, for example). While this marks the official beginning of the lunar eclipse, it can be hard to see as the Earth’s penumbral shadow is very slight.
“The moon begins to dim, but the effect is quite subtle,” NASA wrote (opens in new tab) in an eclipse timeline.
More striking will be the partial eclipse phase, which will begin at 4:09 a.m. EST (0909 GMT) and last just over an hour. This is when the moon enters the Earth’s umbra, or darker portion of the Earth’s shadow. If you didn’t notice the penumbral eclipse, you should be able to see this with your unaided eye.
“To the naked eye, as the moon moves into the umbra, it looks like a bite is being taken out of the lunar disk,” NASA wrote in its guide.