The Last Total Lunar Eclipse Until 2025 Is Happening This Week—What to Know
The last total lunar eclipse until 2025 will occur on November 8.
The blood moon appears red when sunlight scatters through Earth’s atmosphere and projects onto the moon.
Here’s how and when to see it at its peak.
If you’re already rising early for Election Day on Tuesday, consider setting your alarm for a tad earlier to catch November’s full moon, which also happens to be the last total lunar eclipse (a.k.a. blood moon) we’ll see until 2025.
According to NASA, the eclipse—which is the term for when the sun, moon, and earth align—will enter totality at 5:17 a.m EST on November 8.
During a total eclipse, the moon falls completely in Earth’s shadow, and Earth’s atmosphere scatters sunlight. While the blue light scatters away, per NASA, the longer wavelength red, yellow, and orange light passes through and creates the appearance of a red “blood moon.” The intensity and colors depend on how much dust and clouds are in the atmosphere.
“The romantic way to look at it is that it’s kind of like seeing all the sunsets and sunrises on the Earth at one time,” Bruce Betts, the chief scientist at the Planetary Society told The New York Times.
But the full eclipse is only part of the wonderful phenomenon worth marveling—to watch the transformation happen in real time is equally magical.
NASA says the eclipse will begin at 3:02 a.m. EST on November 8. By 4 a.m., as the moon moves into Earth’s umbra, it will appear as if a bite was taken out of it. Totality—the period when the entire surface of the moon is blocked from sunlight—will begin at 5:17 a.m. and end a little over an hour later at 6:42. Totality will be visible across North and Central America and in Ecuador, Colombia, and Western portions of Venezuela and Peru. NASA’s visibility map offers more specific details.
2021’s blood moon was an incredible sight to see, so we can only imagine how impressive this one will be. The next full lunar eclipse will take place on March 14, 2025—so be sure to set your clocks early to catch this one!
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