An unusual “blood moon” lunar eclipse is on its way,
The celestial sight will be visible on Thursday night and Friday morning, depending on where on Earth people are.
A lunar eclipse happens when the Earth moves between the Sun and the Moon.
That blocks out the light that would usually make it to the Moon and instead covers it in a shadow.
That makes the Moon much darker than usual. But it also means that the only light that makes it to the Moon has been refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, which gives it a reddish colour.
That has led to such events being known as the “blood moon”, because our neighbour is left with a red and somewhat malevolent looking hue.
Seeing it is much easier than most other similar sights in the sky. It requires none of the darkness or planning of a meteor shower, for instance, or the safety equipment for a solar eclipse, which happens when the Moon moves in front of the Sun.
Instead, anyone interested can simply look up at the Moon, and will hopefully see the unusual sight.
The lunar eclipse will happen at the same time around the world, no matter where you are. That means it will begin at 2.20am eastern time or 6.20am in the UK, peak around 40 minutes later, and end roughly an hour after it started.
But the timing will be complicated in some places. That includes the UK: the Moon will actually have set by the time the peak arrives, so it will be a good idea to start watching from the start.
Some have referred to the lunar eclipse as a “blood worm moon”. That comes from the fact that the Old Farmer’s Almanac gives names to each of the month’s moons – and the March one comes at a time as the weather warms up and earthworms may be more visible.
