Election Day Blood Moon Last Total Lunar Eclipse Over WA Until 2025

WASHINGTON — The Election Day lunar eclipse will turn the moon an eerie red to welcome the last day of the 2022 midterms Tuesday. It’s the last total lunar eclipse until 2025, and that alone could make staying up late to see it worthwhile.

Whether we'll be able to see it in Western Washington, however, is still a bit of an open question. While Tuesday is forecast to be partly sunny and drier than the days before it, Monday night looks to be mostly cloudy. There is even a chance for a rain-snow mix.

But if a break in the cloud times out right, Puget Sound residents may be able to catch the height of eclipse activity, when the moon takes on a reddish or coppery hue. If you’re not keen on watching the whole thing, the blood moon lasts from about 2:17 a.m. to 3:42 a.m. PST.

But if you want to see it from start to finish, here are the times you need to keep in mind:

• Penumbral eclipse begins: 12:02 a.m. PST
• Partial eclipse begins: 1:09 a.m. PST
• Totality begins: 2:16 a.m. PST
• Maximum eclipse: 2:59 a.m. PST
• Partial eclipse ends: 4:49 a.m. PST
• Penumbral eclipse ends: 5:56 a.m. PST
• Duration of totality: 85 minutes

Lunar eclipses only happen during a full moon, when the moon is opposite the sun in its orbit of Earth. In a full moon, the sun fully illuminates the face of the moon. During a total lunar eclipse, the sun, Earth and moon are aligned, so the moon goes into Earth’s shadow. When that happens, the moon earns its “blood moon” nickname.

November’s full moon is also known as the beaver moon, because it’s the time of year beavers, having spent the early fall busily storing food for the winter, settle into their winter homes, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac.

Just watching the moon rise big and bright over the horizon is worth a trip outdoors. Moonrise Monday is at 4:26 p.m. PST.

City dwellers surrounded by lights can still get a decent look at the eclipse as it progresses, but dark skies offer the most spectacular views.

Total lunar eclipses have been seen in myth and legend as an omen, and the coincidence of an Election Day blood moon has led to much speculation on social media about what it means.

An Election Day lunar eclipse won’t happen again until Nov. 8, 2394, according to EarthSky.

“Blood moon” is a descriptive rather than technical astronomical term, though The Old Farmer’s Almanac says the phrase is “hyped” and that a fully eclipsed moon is orange, or copper-colored like a penny, but not blood red. The moon’s color at totality can also vary depending upon the amount of dust, volcanic ash or other particulate matter in the atmosphere, and because of cloud cover, according to Space.com.