The March 3rd Lunar Eclipse

On March 3rd, everyone near the ring of fire will be able to see a total lunar eclipse happen when 3 celestial bodies align.

A lunar eclipse is an event when the Earth blocks the light from the sun, causing part or all of the moon to appear dark. A total lunar eclipse occurs when the centers of the Sun, Earth, and Moon are perfectly aligned, causing the Moon to appear a deep maroon. Lunar eclipses happen only once or twice a year because of the tilt of the Earth. The moon orbits at a 23-degree angle, so when the Earth, moon, and sun are aligned horizontally, the moon might be too high or too low to be blocked. The moon rarely aligns with the Earth and the sun.

People who are in a totality zone see a red moon instead of a black moon. This is due to the fact that the atmosphere filters the short light rays, for example, blue and purple. So only the light waves with the longest wavelength could pass through. So that is why it appears red. It’s the same concept as sunrises and sunsets, when the sky is a reddish orange.

The start of the eclipse happens at 12:44 AM PST, where the first stage of the eclipse happens. The start of the blood moon, or totality, starts at 3:04 AM PST. The eclipse ends at 6:23 AM PST.

This kind of lunar eclipse won’t happen again until late 2028, since the perfect alignment is very rare.