A total lunar eclipse will turn the moon red. Here’s how to watch
By Lily Hautau, CNN
(CNN) — A total lunar eclipse will turn the moon a deep reddish-orange on Tuesday for sky-gazers in Asia, Australia, the Pacific Islands and the Americas.
This event, often referred to as a blood moon, occurs when Earth moves directly between the sun and the moon, casting a shadow on the satellite’s surface and causing it to appear crimson, according to NASA.
This eclipse is the last of three consecutive total lunar eclipses, said Dr. C. Alex Young, associate director for science communication in the heliophysics science 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 took place in September 2025. If you’re able to catch the upcoming eclipse, you should make an effort to do so, he added, as the next total lunar eclipse won’t occur until December 31, 2028.
What to look for and when
For the nearly 1 in 3 people on Earth who can observe totality, the point at which the moon is fully in Earth’s shadow, “you don’t need a fancy telescope to witness this! Just head 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 help sharpen the details, he noted.
However, visibility depends on the weather as clouds may obscure the view.
The eclipse will be visible from Asia, Australia, the Pacific Islands and the Americas simultaneously, but the local time of the event will depend on your time zone. The penumbral lunar eclipse, which occurs as the moon moves through the Earth’s subtle outer shadow, causing faint dimming of the satellite, begins at 3:44 a.m. ET. Then, a partial eclipse, the phase during which the bright full moon is partially covered by Earth shadow, starts at 4:50 a.m. ET. The total eclipse will be visible starting at 6:04 a.m. ET.
During 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, this is what to aim for,” Young said.
The total eclipse will end at 7:03 a.m. ET as the moon starts to leave Earth’s shadow, after which a partial eclipse followed by a penumbral eclipse will be visible again. The event concludes at 9:23 a.m. ET.
To check timing in your area, see Time and Date’s website.
One full moon with many names
While NASA often refers to this full moon as the blood moon, the event goes by many names, which can 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 refer to the March full moon as the “snow crust moon” or “hard crust on the snow moon,” referencing the snow that thaws during the day but refreezes during the cold nights.
The moniker “sore eye moon” is used by several Native American tribes including the Sioux, Lakota, and Assiniboine of the Great Plains and Dakotas. The name originates from the sun reflecting off the snow causing eye soreness.
Upcoming full moons
This year, sky-gazers will get to see two full moons in May, making 13 full moons for the year. Because a full moon happens every 29.5 days and most months are longer than that, sometimes two full moons occur in one month, creating the blue moon phenomenon roughly 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 upcoming blood moon, the next eclipse, a total solar eclipse, will take place on August 12. It will be visible from Greenland, Iceland, Spain, Russia and a small portion 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 come in pairs and sometimes trios, referred to as seasons, with a solar eclipse always accompanied by a lunar eclipse roughly two weeks before or after, according to Young.
The accompanying lunar eclipse falls on August 27 and 28, 2027. People living in the Americas, Europe, Africa and Western Asia can expect to see this partial eclipse.
Looking ahead to next year, there will be an annular solar eclipse on February 6, 2027, according to Young. An annular eclipse occurs when the moon passes between Earth and the sun but is too far from Earth to fully hide the sun. As a result, a ring of fire phenomenon can be seen, as the sun’s outer edge appears like a glowing circle around the moon. The eclipse will be visible over Argentina, the Atlantic, and West Africa, Young said.
The following eclipse, a total solar eclipse, is the one that Young is most excited about. It will take place on August 2, 2027, and will be visible across Spain, North Africa, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. It has been dubbed the “eclipse of the century,” Young added. There will be a whopping 6 minutes and 23 seconds of totality, providing plenty of time to glimpse the spectacular moment.
Whether you are traveling for the best views or hoping to watch from home, these celestial events offer an opportunity to pause, look up and appreciate the awe of the universe.
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