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A total lunar eclipse happens when the Earth passes between the sun and the moon with its shadow covering the entire moon.Boston Globe<\/p>\nA total lunar eclipse will turn the moon blood red on Tuesday morning, but you\u2019ll have to get up before the sun. <\/p>\n
The middle of the eclipse will be during sunrise, around 6:30 a.m., said James D. Lowenthal, an astronomy professor at Smith College. But at that point, the moon will already have set in Massachusetts. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt will set fully eclipsed. Observers would see a dark moon sitting in a bright sky at that time,\u201c he said.<\/p>\n
The best time to watch would be around 5:30 a.m., Lowenthal said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s actually pretty neat, because you\u2019ll get that crimson color of the moon and you\u2019ll get it during that predawn silhouette against blue sky,\u201d said Scott MacNeill, staff astronomer at Brown University\u2019s Ladd Observatory. Observers can step out as early as 4:30 in the morning and will be able to spot the red in the moon until a little after 6 a.m., he said. <\/p>\n
When people think about a lunar eclipse, they picture the moon being high in the sky. But this lunar eclipse will appear on the horizon. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe call it the moon illusion which is where the moon appears to be really big on the horizon,\u201d MacNeill said.\u2029\u201dThat\u2019s your mind playing tricks on you.\u201d<\/p>\n
The best spot to see the eclipse would be anywhere with a wide-open view of the western sky, MacNeill said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt is an inspiring natural spectacle that provides awe and wonder and connection with nature, and connection with our ancestors,\u201d Lowenthal said. \u201cTo think that our parents and our grandparents, and thousands of generations, have been looking at the same things, and maybe feeling the same things, and the connection with that human history and culture is profound for many people.\u201d<\/p>\n
During a total lunar eclipse, Earth moves between the sun and the moon, casting a shadow that covers the moon. The moon looks red because of stray bits of sunlight filtering through Earth\u2019s atmosphere, Lowenthal said. <\/p>\n
A total lunar eclipse happens when the Earth passes between the sun and the moon with its shadow covering the entire moon.Boston Globe<\/p>\n
The moon shines because it\u2019s reflecting sunlight, Lowenthal said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf that sunlight gets cut off by the earth, then the moon is dramatically darker and it usually takes on a coppery red hue as well,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Whether you\u2019ll be able to see the moon turn blood red depends on the weather, of course. In Massachusetts, the National Weather Service forecast suggests it will be cloudy and quite cold.<\/p>\n
For those watching, there\u2019s no need for any special equipment to observe. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf you have binoculars, that\u2019s fantastic,\u201d Lowenthal said. \u201cIf you have a telescope, great. But you don\u2019t need either one. You can just look with your naked eye.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hannah Goeke can be reached at hannah.goeke@globe.com<\/a>. Marianne Mizera can be reached at marianne.mizera@globe.com<\/a>. Follow her @MareMizera<\/a>.<\/p>\n