PHOTOS: Total lunar eclipse turns moon blood red

ORLANDO, Fla. – A total lunar eclipse reddened the moon early Tuesday as the Earth moved directly between the sun and moon and cast its shadow across the lunar surface.

In Central Florida, the moon began to darken just before 5:30 a.m. and turned “blood red” as the total eclipse began about 30 minutes later.

The eclipse unfolded in stages starting with a subtle dimming, then the brighter moon gradually being covered by Earth’s shadow as it turned the deep red.

The moon set at 6:50 a.m., ending the eclipse for Central Florida.

The western U.S. experienced the complete eclipse, but Central Florida still saw a great show, with about 45 minutes of totality.

Lunar eclipses occur only during the full moon phase, when the alignment is precise enough for Earth’s shadow to dim the moon over several hours. Each eclipse is visible from roughly half of Earth.

During a total lunar eclipse, the moon passes into Earth’s umbra, the darkest part of its shadow.

Sunlight filtering through Earth’s atmosphere scatters shorter wavelengths like blue and violet, while longer wavelengths such as red and orange reach the moon, giving it a coppery glow.

The effect deepens when Earth’s atmosphere contains more dust or clouds.

Other lunar eclipses include a partial lunar eclipse – which occurs when the alignment is imperfect and only part of the moon enters the umbra, causing the shadow to grow and recede without fully covering the surface. A penumbral eclipse is more subtle, with the moon passing through the faint outer shadow and dimming so slightly it can be hard to notice.

[PIN IT! Post your blood moon photos on ClickOrlando.com]

The March 3 eclipse unfolded across several time zones, with the moon moving from right to left through Earth’s shadow in a sequence tracked in UTC. Totality was visible in the evening from eastern Asia and Australia, overnight across the Pacific, and in the early morning for North and Central America and far western South America.

The eclipse was partial in central Asia and much of South America, and not visible at all in Africa or Europe.

Hopefully you were also were able to catch a glimpse of the total lunar eclipse as we won’t have another one visible in Central Florida until June 26, 2029.