Total Lunar Eclipse To Turn Moon Blood Red: How To Watch In VA

Virginia residents planning to catch the total lunar eclipse on Tuesday, March 3, should plan on being awake before 4 a.m. Eastern Time to see the moon turn blood red.

During a total lunar eclipse, Earth moves between the sun and the moon and cuts off the moon’s light supply. When this happens, the surface of the moon takes on a reddish glow instead of going completely dark because of the way Earth’s atmosphere filters and bends sunlight.

The farther west, the better the views of the blood moon. Western North America will have the best, highest-in-the-sky views of the blood moon. On the eastern side of the country, deep-red totality occurs around 6:25 to 6:33 a.m., almost exactly at sunrise, when the moon will be very low on the western horizon.

Here are the times to know in Virginia (all times local):

• Penumbral eclipse begins at 3:44 a.m.: moon enters Earth’s outer shadow (subtle dimming)
• Partial eclipse begins at 4:50 a.m.: umbra starts covering moon (a visible dark bite)
• Total eclipse begins at 6:04 a.m.: entire moon in Earth’s umbra (start of “blood moon”)
• Total eclipse ends at 7:02 a.m.: moon leaves umbra
• Partial eclipse ends at 8:17 a.m.
• The penumbral eclipse ends at 9:23 a.m.

NASA points out that as Earth's shadow dims the lunar surface, some constellations may be easier to see than they are usually during a full moon. At the time of the eclipse, the moon will be in the constellation Leo, under the lion’s hind paws.

Sky Meadows State Park in nearby Fauquier County is hosting a blood moon and lunar eclipse "experience" from 5:30-8:30 a.m. More details on the event can be found here.

Whether you’ll be able to see the moon turn blood red depends on the weather, of course. The D.C. area’s seven-day outlook from the National Weather Service predicts snow and freezing rain early Tuesday morning, as well as mostly cloudy skies.

Lunar eclipses only happen during full moons. March’s full moon is typically called the “worm moon.” The origin of the moniker is the subject of some debate, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac. While the moniker was long thought to reference earthworms tunneling out of winter homes, historical research, notably by Captain Jonathan Carver in the 1760s, suggests the name referred to beetle larvae emerging from thawing tree bark and winter hiding places.

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