An upcoming total lunar eclipse will cause the moon to appear blood red for about an hour to stargazers in North and South America.
The eclipse will begin the evening of Jan. 20 and last until the early morning hours of Jan. 21. The entire eclipse, including the partial phases, will last between 9:36 p.m. EST and 2:48 a.m. EST, according to AccuWeather.com. The moon will appear red for a little over an hour, between 11:41 p.m. EST and 12:43 a.m. EST.
All of North America, South America and a few areas of Western Europe and Africa will be able to see the eclipse.
In a lunar eclipse, the Earth moves between the sun and moon in just the right way so that the shadow of our planet is cast entirely cast across the moon, according to Popular Mechanics. A lunar eclipse displays the color of all of Earth's sunrises and sunsets, causing the moon to appear red, NASA Scientist Noah Petro told Space.com. Lunar eclipses are sometimes called "blood moons" for this reason.
Unlike a solar eclipse, a lunar eclipse is safe to look at with the naked eye. So to view the blood moon, stargazers will just need to go outside and look to the sky.
The Jan. 21 lunar eclipse will be the last one until May 2021.
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