If you want to see the total lunar eclipse that is also being classified as a "blood moon," you only have to hope for clear skies ... and get up earlier than you'd probably like Wednesday morning.
The eclipse will be visible for everyone with cooperating weather conditions in North America. Earth's shadow will obscure the moon before dawn. For East Coasters, the celestial event will happen around 5 a.m. and will continue until sunrise.
The moon turns an orange hue during a total lunar eclipse on Tuesday, April 15, 2014, in the sky above Phoenix. In all, four eclipses will occur this year, two lunar and two solar. A total lunar eclipse will take place Oct. 8 and a partial solar eclipse is slated for Oct. 23. (AP/Ross D. Franklin)
The moon will take on a red or orange hue as the sun's light scatters off Earth's atmosphere, earning it the popular term "blood moon," which has religious meaning for some.
Here's what the eclipse should look like, according to Space.com, depending on where you live:
People who live in those portions of the United States and Canada that are a few hundred miles inland from the Eastern Seaboard should have a good view of the Moon's emergence from the umbra somewhat later. The low, partially eclipsed Moon in deep-blue twilight should offer a wide variety of interesting scenic possibilities for both artists and astrophotographers. From Toronto and points south through the eastern Ohio Valley and into the Piedmont to the Florida Gulf Coast, a peculiar-looking, waxing crescent moon with its cusps pointing downward will appear to set beyond the western horizon.Farther west, across the western Great Lakes and down through the Deep South to the Gulf of Mexico, the moon will appear to be notched on its lower right side by the shadow.
Going still farther west, the Moon will go down "full," but if the western horizon is haze-free, assiduous observers from much of Minnesota, western Iowa, eastern portions of Nebraska and Kansas as well as central sections of Oklahoma and Texas might still be able to detect a faint penumbral stain on the moon's lower right limb.
The eclipse will be visible across Australia and much of Asia. Europe, Africa and the eastern tip of Brazil, however, will not have a seat at the show.
Those who live east of the Mississippi River could even see what appears to be the sun rising and the sun setting at the same time, a trick allowed by Earth's atmosphere called "selenelion," according to Space.com.
If you end up missing this eclipse, according to NASA, a partial solar eclipse will be visible from the U.S. and Canada on Oct. 23. There will be two full lunar eclipses next year.
If you have poor weather or would rather watch the eclipse from the comfort of your home, SLOOH will have a live feed starting at 5 a.m. ET. If you find yourself up even earlier, NASA will host a webcast starting at 3 a.m.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
