Wake up to a total lunar eclipse on Tuesday

A blood-red moon will soon grace the skies for a total lunar eclipse — and there won’t be another until late 2028.

The spectacle will be visible Tuesday morning from North America, Central America and the western part of South America. Australia and eastern Asia can catch it Tuesday night. Much of South America. Africa and Europe will be shut out.

For western Kentucky and locations in the Central Time Zone, the period of totality—when the moon appears its deepest reddish hue—will occur Tuesday from 5:04 a.m. to 6:02 a.m. So far our local weather forecast is for showers to end after midnight Tuesday and become partly sunny during the day.

Solar and lunar eclipses happen due to a precise alignment of the sun, moon and Earth. There are between four and seven a year, according to NASA.

The eclipses tend to follow each other, taking advantage of the sweet spot in the celestial bodies’ orbits. Tuesday’s total eclipse of the moon comes two weeks after a ‘ring of fire’ solar eclipse that dazzled people and penguins in Antarctica.

During a total lunar eclipse, the Earth is between the sun and full moon, casting a shadow that covers the moon. The so-called blood moon looks red because of stray bits of sunlight filtering through Earth’s atmosphere.

There’s no need for any special equipment to observe — just a clear, cloudless view of the sky.

The show unfolds over several hours, with totality lasting about an hour. Venture outside a few times to see Earth’s shadow darken the moon, eventually revealing the reddish-orange orb.


(AP Photo Marco Ugarte)