A total lunar eclipse will turn the moon red. Here’s how to watch
A total lunar eclipse will turn the Moon a dark reddish-orange hue Tuesday for skywatchers in Asia, Australia, the Pacific Islands and the Americas.
This event, often called a blood moon, occurs when Earth moves directly between the sun and the moon, casting a shadow on the satellite’s surface and giving it a crimson appearance, according to NASA.
This eclipse is the last of three consecutive total lunar eclipses, said Dr. C. Alex Young, associate director for science communications in the Heliophysical Sciences Division at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The first of these total lunar eclipses occurred in March 2025 and the second in September 2025. If you are able to observe the next eclipse, you should make an effort to do so, he added, because the next total lunar eclipse will not occur until December 31, 2028.
What to look for and when
For the nearly one in three people on Earth who can view totality, the point where the Moon is completely in Earth’s shadow, “you don’t need a fancy telescope to witness this! Just go outside, look up and enjoy the view,” Young said. If you want to enhance your experience, you can use binoculars or a small telescope to refine details, he noted.
However, visibility depends on the weather, as clouds can obscure the view.
The eclipse will be visible simultaneously from Asia, Australia, the Pacific Islands and the Americas, but the local time of the event will depend on your time zone. The penumbral lunar eclipse, which occurs when the Moon moves through Earth’s subtle outer shadow, causing the satellite to dim slightly, begins at 3:44 a.m. ET. Next, a partial eclipse, the phase in which the bright full moon is partially covered by Earth’s shadow, begins at 4:50 a.m. ET. The total eclipse will be visible starting at 6:04 a.m. ET.
At the peak of the event, at 6:34 a.m. ET, viewers can expect to see the most intense reddish color. “If you only have time to look at one part, that’s what you should aim for,” Young said.
The total eclipse will end at 7:03 a.m. ET as the Moon begins to leave Earth’s shadow, after which a partial eclipse followed by a penumbral eclipse will be visible again. The event ends at 9:23 a.m. ET.
To check times in your area, check the Time and Date website.
A full moon with many names
People gather near a telescope to view the full blood moon in Caracas, Venezuela, in March 2025. – Juan Barreto/AFP/Getty Images
While NASA often calls this full moon the blood moon, the event goes by many names, which may reflect seasonal changes or animals, according to the Farmers’ Almanac.
As the soil warms in early spring, worms and insects emerge from dormancy, giving rise to the name “worm moon,” which has been used by groups across America and Europe, according to the Farmers’ Almanac.
The Ojibwe, or Chippewa, tribes near the Great Lakes call March’s full moon the “snow crust moon” or “hard crust on the snow moon,” referring to the snow that melts during the day but refreezes during cold nights.
The nickname “painful moon” is used by several Native American tribes, including the Sioux, Lakota, and Assiniboine of the Great Plains and Dakotas. The name comes from the sun reflecting off the snow and causing pain in the eyes.
Full moons to come
This year, skywatchers will be able to see two full moons in May, making 13 full moons for the year. Because a full moon occurs every 29.5 days and most months are longer, sometimes two full moons occur in one month, creating the blue moon phenomenon approximately every 2.5 years.
Here are the remaining full moons of 2026, according to the Farmers’ Almanac:
April 1: Pink Moon
May 1: Flower moon
May 31: Blue Moon
June 29: Strawberry Moon
July 29: Buck moon
August 28: Sturgeon Moon
September 26: Harvest Moon
October 26: Hunter’s Moon
November 24: Beaver Moon
December 23: Cold moon
Future lunar and solar eclipses
After the next blood moon, the next eclipse, a total solar eclipse, will occur on August 12. It will be visible from Greenland, Iceland, Spain, Russia and a small part of Portugal, with a partial solar eclipse visible in Europe, Africa and North America, according to NASA.
The event will kick off this year’s second eclipse season. Eclipses occur in pairs and sometimes trios, called seasons, with a solar eclipse always accompanied by a lunar eclipse about two weeks before or after, according to Young.
The accompanying lunar eclipse will occur on August 27-28, 2027. People living in America, Europe, Africa, and western Asia can expect to see this partial eclipse.
According to Young, next year there will be an annular solar eclipse on February 6, 2027. An annular eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun but is too far from Earth to completely obscure the sun. As a result, a ring of fire phenomenon can be observed, since the outer edge of the sun appears as a bright circle around the moon. The eclipse will be visible over Argentina, the Atlantic and West Africa, Young said.
The next eclipse, a total solar eclipse, is the one that excites Young the most. It will take place on August 2, 2027 and will be visible throughout Spain, North Africa, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. It was nicknamed “the eclipse of the century,” Young added. There will be a total of 6 minutes and 23 seconds, allowing plenty of time to catch a glimpse of this spectacular moment.
Whether you’re traveling to enjoy the best views or want to observe them from home, these celestial events provide an opportunity to pause, look up, and appreciate the awe of the universe.
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