Hopefully you could sneak outside in the wee hours of Friday morning to catch a glimpse of the Lunar Eclipse! It was the last one for North America until 2029. Fear not, we've got you covered. It will be the last for North America until 2029!
The eclipse happened very late Thursday night - technically Friday morning since totality started after midnight on the East Coast. As the moon moved into the umbra or the darkest shadow cast by the earth, it turned a deep red hue. Starting around 1 AM ET the red color became much more noticeable around 2 am, with totality or the complete blood moon look, happening between 2:26 am and 3:31 am ET.
Here's a look at how the moon changed from its classic white to dark red as it moved across Earth's shadow. The eclipse was a "total" lunar eclipse because it passed through the darkest portion of Earth's shadow, known as the umbra. While this earth's shadow is always present, it isn't too often that the moon moves directly through the darkest part.
During a partial lunar eclipse, the "umbra", or earth's hard shadow, doesn't fully cover the moon, only a portion. During a penumbral lunar eclipse, the Earth only passes through the "soft" shadow of the moon, with the umbra completely missing the lunar surface.