A total lunar eclipse is coming, are you ready to see it? Want to know what it looks like?
What is a lunar eclipse? A lunar eclipse occurs when the sun, Earth, and moon align so that the moon passes into Earth’s shadow.
A lunar eclipse is quite different than a solar eclipse. It doesn’t require any special glasses, it’s visible over a huge swath of the Earth, you’ll be able to see it for hours and totality will last for about 60 minutes.
The downside is you’ll have to be up very late – or very early, depending on your perspective – to see it.
If you live in the U.S., you will be able to see the eclipse starting at 3:44 a.m. ET Tuesday, March 3, 2026, according to NASA. During the night, you’ll see the moon in a reddish hue, or a blood moon.
Totality lasts for a little more than an hour before the moon begins to emerge from behind Earth’s shadow, according to the popular site timeanddate.com. As the moon moves into Earth’s shadow, also known as the umbra, it appears red-orange or a “ghostly copper color,” hence its name: blood moon, NASA says.
“During a lunar eclipse, the moon appears red or orange because any sunlight that’s not blocked by our planet is filtered through a thick slice of Earth’s atmosphere on its way to the lunar surface,” NASA says. “It’s as if all the world’s sunrises and sunsets are projected onto the moon.”
The entire eclipse will last about six hours. People in Florida can see the lunar eclipse during the early morning hours of Tuesday, March 3, 2026. The total lunar eclipse will be visible in North America, South America, Eastern Europe, Asia, Australia and Antarctica.
Everything will be over by 6:23 a.m. ET March 3, 2026.
Photos of total lunar eclipse in Florida
Two previous total lunar eclipse events were in November 2022 and March 2025. Below are some stunning photos of lunar eclipses, blood moons and other super moons visible from Florida.
Sangalang is a lead digital producer for USA TODAY Network. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram at @byjensangalang. Support local journalism. Consider subscribing to a Florida newspaper. Subscribe to the free Florida TODAY newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Total lunar eclipse in Florida. Stunning photos show red-orange blood moon
Reporting by Jennifer Sangalang, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
