A total lunar eclipse this weekend will provide longer than usual thrills for stargazers across North and South America.
One of the longest totalities of the decade will take place on Monday, when the moon will be visible in the red and orange colors of the sunrise and sunset. It will be a blood moon.
Observers in the eastern half of North America and all of Central and South America will be able to watch the show. The eclipse will be visible in Africa, Europe and the Middle East. Alaska, Asia and Australia were left out.
Noah Petro, a planetary geologist who specializes in the moon, said that this is an eclipse for the Americas.
patience and eyeballs are all you need, he said.
A total eclipse occurs when Earth passes between the moon and the sun and casts a shadow. The moon will be 225,000 miles away from the US at the peak of the eclipse.
This is a wonderful event that you can see if you know where you are.
NASA will provide a live stream of the eclipse from various locations.
Africa and Europe will get another total lunar eclipse in November, but not the Americas. The next one is not until 25 years from now.
Lucy, NASA's asteroid-seeking spacecraft, will photograph this weekend's event from 64 million miles away, as ground controllers try to fix a loose solar panel.
Jessica Watkins will set her alarm clock early on the International Space Station.
She told The Associated Press earlier this week that she hoped they could be up in time to catch a glimpse.
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