Thursday, July 30, 2015

A total lunar eclipse will turn the moon red - also known as a blood moon - early Tuesday morning, April 15, 2014. (Steve Jurvetson/Flickr)
Here's how to see the total lunar eclipse - or blood moon - in Elkhart County this week
Posted on April 13, 2014 at 2:58 p.m.

If you want to see the total lunar eclipse turn the moon red tomorrow night, you'll have to stay up pretty late.

Earth's shadow will eclipse the sun's rays and turn the moon a reddish orange - also known as a blood moon - just before 2 a.m., National Geographic reports.

Total lunar eclipses occur when the sun, Earth and moon are exactly aligned in a way that causes Earth to block the sun's rays and cast a shadow on the earth. National Geographic says it turns the moon orange or red because the sun's light will be bent by the Earth's atmosphere towards the red end of the spectrum. The amount of dust in the Earth's atmosphere will determine how red the moon becomes.

The last time this happened was Dec. 21, 2010.

So when's the best time to look?

The total lunar eclipse will begin at approximately 1:58 a.m., National Geographic reported. The moon will be the most visible when the moon enters totality, starting at 3:07 a.m., with the height occurring at 3:46 a.m. Totality lasts around 78 minutes, and then the moon will return to its normal color.

The SLOOH Community Observatory in Arizona will be broadcasting the eclipse online. NASA will host a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) beginning at 1:45 p.m. Monday, April 14, and a live chat on its website starting at 1 a.m. Tuesday, April 15, all about the eclipse.

If you miss out, don't worry. This blood moon is the first of four in a lunar eclipse tetrad - or group of four total lunar eclipses. For the next two years, a total lunar eclipse will happen every six months over the Western Hemisphere. National Geographic says you can watch for the next ones on Oct. 8, 2014, April 4, 2015, and Sept. 28, 2015.

Do you plan on watching the total lunar eclipse? Send us your photos and/or videos.