Total lunar eclipse visible in the night sky early Friday morning

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – A total lunar eclipse will happen early Friday morning, March 14th.

A total lunar eclipse is when the moon passes into the Earth’s shadow, appearing to turn red in the night sky.

The moon will be full as this is happening; March’s full moon is also known as the “Worm moon.” While this event is happening, the moon can also be referred to as a “Blood moon.”

As for when you can go out and look for it in Nebraska, the partial eclipse will start just after midnight early Friday morning. The total eclipse (most of the moon looks red) will start by about 1:30 a.m. Friday morning, lasting for about an hour.

The maximum eclipse (or when the entire moon should be red) will happen by about 1:58 a.m. Friday.

Here’s another way to look at what is happening. The moon will enter the Earth’s penumbra, or the outer part of the shadow, and begin to dim ever so slightly.

As the moon goes on to enter the Earth’s umbra, or the darkest part of Earth’s shadow, the partial eclipse begins.

Once the moon is entirely in the umbra, totality begins. The tint of the moon can look like a copper sort of red.

The best pictures can be taken using a camera on a tripod, with long exposure of at least several seconds.

But there could be come cloud cover to contend with late Thursday into early Friday.

Central and northern Nebraska may have some more difficulty viewing this event with partly to mostly cloudy skies. Lincoln and southeast Nebraska should be mostly clear that night as per the forecast Tuesday morning.

Another total lunar eclipse will happen next year: March 3, 2026.

Meteorologist Jessica Blum 
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