at 10:10 AM by Mallory Schnell

Total Lunar Eclipse to Occur Wednesday Morning

Before sunrise Wednesday morning, the moon will be bathed in red due to a total lunar eclipse. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Sun, Earth, and full moon are all aligned, allowing the sun to cast the Earth’s shadow on the moon. The Earth’s shadow is made up of two parts, the umbra, or the central shadow, and the penumbra, which is the outer shadow. The moon during a lunar eclipse is also called a “Blood Moon” because of the coppery tint that it possesses. Unlike a solar eclipse, a lunar eclipse is safe to be seen with the naked eye.


The Capital Weather Gang wrote a recent article on the upcoming lunar eclipse. Below is an excerpt from that article detailing the timing of the event (take into account that the times listed are in EDT and not CDT):

Entering the partial phase (the penumbral shadow) at 5:15 a.m. EDT, the moon slowly gains a red glow. Our lunar colleague then moves into the umbral shadow by 6:25 a.m., and – and barring cloudy skies – consumes itself wholly in crimson.

The full moon officially occurs at 6:51 a.m. (EDT), according to the U.S. Naval Observatory. And the middle of the total lunar eclipse occurs at 6:55 a.m., but note the sky will be lightening for sunrise (7:11 a.m.) in the east. The moon sets in the west a mere five minutes later at 7:16 a.m., according to the Naval Observatory.

lunar eclipse

Wednesday’s eclipse is the second total lunar eclipse this year, and the second one out of four that make up a tetrad. The last two total lunar eclipses of this tetrad are expected to occur in April and September of next year. Unfortunately for us along the eastern part of the country, the full moon will be setting right around the time the total lunar eclipse is getting underway. We will be able (weather permitting) to see most of the first half, but will have to resort to watching the rest of it online through a livestream with Slooh.