Night owls across North Carolina could witness an eerie occurrence tonight. There will be a total lunar eclipse from around 1:30 to 4 am. That’s when the Earth is directly between the moon and sun, temporarily blocking out the moon.
Tom English is the Director of Cline Observatory at Guilford Tech:
"The night will start out with a bright full moon. And then as the moon moves into the Earth’s shadow, you’ll start to see it fade a little bit on one side. And then it starts to get dark. It almost looks like it goes through its phases. Then when it gets into the darkest part of the shadow, it should not completely disappear. It might appear a sort of reddish color, or brownish."
A public viewing will be held at Cline Observatory if the skies are clear. But the eclipse can be viewed from anywhere. The peak will occur between 2:40 and 3:50 according to Guilford Tech. The next full lunar eclipse North Carolinians will be able to witness won’t be until April of 2014.