The total lunar eclipse early Wednesday morning will be a spectacularly rare one. Not only will the moon turn a deep-red color during the eclipse, but it will be slightly bigger and brighter than usual: a supermoon. But that’s not all: It’s the second full moon of January, making it a “blue moon” as well.
There’s just one problem: The total eclipse is not going to be visible for most of the East Coast of the United States. Instead, we’ll get a partial eclipse of the blue moon just before and during dawn.
The best time to look for it is at 6:48 am Eastern time. (Sunrise is at 7:15 am.) At that time, the moon will be near the horizon in the Western sky, so if you live in a wooded area, in a city, or anywhere with an obstructed view of the horizon, it will be hard to spot. By the time the total phase of the eclipse starts at 7:51 am, the moon will be completely out of view.
But no fear, East Coasters (and people in other regions of the world that won’t see a total eclipse), can still enjoy it thanks to NASA. Starting at 5:30 am Eastern time, the space agency will be broadcasting live coverage of the eclipse, which you can watch right here.
For people on the West Coast, where the view of the total eclipse should be good (as long as the weather’s clear), here’s a guide of when to look. The moon will be in the darkest part of the Earth’s shadow for more than an hour.
The Midwest has a shot of seeing the eclipse too. In St. Louis, Missouri, people can check out the total eclipse just before sunrise, at 6:51 am Central time. Alaska and Hawaii will have the best view in the United States. In Honolulu, the total eclipse begins at 2:51 am local time; in Anchorage, it begins at 3:51 am. (Check out TimeandDate.com to see when you might be able to catch a glimpse of the eclipse in your area.)
Further reading:
- Lunar eclipses, explained
- The 8 weirdest things we’ve left on the moon
- What a lunar eclipse looks like from the moon
Sourse: vox.com
