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NEBRASKA — A total lunar eclipse will be visible across Nebraska during the early morning hours of Friday, March 14.
A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon, Earth and sun align, the Earth casts a shadow that can partially or totally blot out the moon.
Unlike a total solar eclipse, which can only be viewed from a relatively small area of the world, a lunar eclipse may be viewed from anywhere on the night side of Earth.
A total lunar eclipse can last up to nearly two hours, while a total solar eclipse lasts only a few minutes at any given place, because the Moon’s shadow is smaller.
When direct sunlight is being blocked by the Earth, and the only light reaching it is sunlight refracted by Earth’s atmosphere, producing a reddish color. This is possible because the rays from the Sun are able to wrap around the Earth and reflect off the Moon.
A full lunar eclipse has been called a blood moon as a result.
The eclipse will be completely visible over North and South America, seen rising over Australia and northeast Asia and setting over Africa and Europe.
Locally, the partial eclipse will begin during the early morning of Friday, March 14 at 12:09 a.m.
The full eclipse will start at 1:26 a.m. and the maximum eclipse will occur at 1:58 a.m. The full eclipse ends at 2:31 a.m.
The partial eclipse ends at 3:37 a.m.
According to the National Weather Service – Hastings, there is a 50 percent chance for cloud cover during the evening, but it will not be constant cloud cover with some breaks occuring.
