Tonight: Watch Live as a Total Lunar Eclipse Turns the Moon Red

Early tomorrow morning, the moon will pass behind the center of Earth’s shadow and turn a rusty red color. Most people probably won’t be able to see this total lunar eclipse, because it will occur mainly over the Pacific Ocean. But don’t worry. You can watch a live broadcast by the Slooh Community Observatory from multiple locations in Australia and North America (above), or NASA’s broadcast of the event (below).
Where the eclipse is visible.
Where the eclipse is visible.NASA/GSFC/Espenak

Early tomorrow morning, the moon will pass behind the center of Earth's shadow and turn a rusty red color. Most people probably won't be able to see this total lunar eclipse, because it will occur mainly over the Pacific Ocean. But don't worry. You can watch a live broadcast by the Slooh Community Observatory from multiple locations in Australia and North America (below), and enjoy NASA's pre-event show (above).

The Slooh show will start on October 8 at 2:00 a.m. PT/5:00 a.m. ET and last for about 4 hours. The moon will make first contact with the core of the Earth's shadow at about 2:15 a.m PT/5:15 a.m. ET and take more than an hour to creep across Earth's shadow before reaching totality at about 3:25 a.m. PT/6:25 a.m. ET, which lasts for about an hour.

Only those in parts of western North America, eastern Australia, New Zealand, eastern Asia, most of Japan, Hawaii, and eastern Asia will be able to see the total eclipse. The partial eclipse will be visible in the easternmost parts of North America (Newfoundland) and western Asia (eastern India, Nepal, western China).

The moon during a total lunar eclipse appears red because of Earth's atmosphere. Sunlight reaches the moon after traveling through Earth's atmosphere, which only lets through light with longer wavelengths: red light. The atmosphere also bends the red sunbeams ever so slightly toward the center of the moon, illuminating the lunar surface with a copper-like hue.

But a total lunar eclipse isn't always red. If it happens to be cloudy in the part of the atmosphere where the sunlight passes through or if there are major volcanic eruptions going on, the moon will instead appear dark and blackish.

Blood moon during the total lunar eclipse in April 2014.

Dominic Milan / NASA

Tomorrow's eclipse will be the second of what's called a tetrad, a sequence of four total lunar eclipses without any partial eclipses in between. The first of the tetrad (right) happened in April, the third one will occur on April 4, 2015, and the last will be on September 28, 2015.

Some have also ominously dubbed these tetrad eclipses to be Blood Moons, as a part of a Biblical prophesy portending the End Times. The first eclipse of the current tetrad coincides with Passover and tomorrow's happens during the Jewish holiday Sukkot. But Passover always happens during a full moon, the only time when total lunar eclipses can occur. And Sukkot is always in the fall, so such cosmic and religious alignment isn't necessarily special. While tetrads themselves aren't that common, they're not that rare either, as there will be a total of eight in the 21st century (the next one starts in 2032).

So you probably don't need to worry about the end of the world. Just sit back and enjoy the show.

Homepage image: Craig ONeal/Flickr