Saw The The Total Eclipse And Aurora? Here Comes A Third Rare Sky Event – Forbes
ByJamie CarterByJamie Carter, Senior Contributor. On March 13-14, 2025, North America will witness a total lunar eclipse, or “blood moon,” with … [+] totality lasting 65 minutes.Are you ready for one of the most beautiful celestial events of 2025? On the night of Thursday, March 13, through Friday, March 14, North America will have a front-row seat to witness a total lunar eclipse — colloquially called a “blood moon.” What is a total lunar eclipse, and why does the moon turn red?Here’s everything you need to know about the rare event not seen anywhere since 2022.A total lunar eclipse occurs when Earth is positioned directly between the sun and a full moon. This alignment causes Earth’s central shadow, its umbra, to fall across the lunar surface, blocking the sun’s light. When the whole of the moon is within the Earth’s umbra, the only light reaching the lunar surface is sunlight refracted through Earth’s atmosphere — which is why the lunar surface turns red. This is totality.Unlike a total solar eclipse, during which totality lasts only a few minutes and can only be seen from specific locations, a total lunar eclipse is visible from anywhere on the night side of Earth. On this occasion, totality will last for 65 minutes, partly because the moon will be farther from Earth than on average, so it will take longer to travel through Earth’s umbra.The entire process of a total lunar eclipse takes many hours. It begins with the moon gradually entering Earth’s penumbra, the outer part of its shadow, causing the full moon to lose its brightness gradually. It’s a subtle effect that’s often difficult to detect with the naked eye. As the moon moves into Earth’s umbra, the partial eclipse begins, its surface becoming redder. When it’s wholly within the umbra, it’s completely reddish — this is the famous “blood moon” effect. Halfway through totality, the entire process goes into reverse.This total lunar eclipse will be visible across the night side of the world, with the entire event observable from North America. Although the penumbra phase is interesting, most spectators will begin observing during the partial phase. That begins in the east of the continent at 1:09 a.m. EDT on March 14, with totality lasting from 2:26 a.m. to 3:32 a.m. EDT. For the West Coast, the partial eclipse starts at 10:09 p.m. PDT on March 13, with totality occurring from 11:26 p.m. to 12:32 a.m. PDT. This is merely a time zone difference because the eclipse is a global event. Those in Western Europe will see the moon set totally eclipsed, while in Australia and New Zealand, it will rise totally eclipsed.The distinctive red color of the moon during a total lunar eclipse is caused by Earth’s atmosphere. As sunlight passes through the atmosphere, shorter wavelengths, such as blue and violet, scatter in all directions. This is the same phenomenon that makes the sky appear blue during the day. However, during an eclipse, the longer wavelengths of light — reddish and orange light — are bent or refracted toward the moon.This process, known as Rayleigh scattering, filters out the cooler colors, leaving only the warm hues illuminating the moon’s surface. Here’s another way to look at it — during totality, thousands of sunsets illuminate the lunar surface.There are two total lunar eclipses this year, the second one on Sept. 7-8, though North America is not on the night side during that one. In fact, March 13-14 is North America’s first total lunar eclipse since 2022 and its best until 2029.Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
