The end of the week will bring celestial phenomena above the skies of Connecticut.
A total lunar eclipse, which is the only one of 2025 set to appear above the Unites States, is set to light up the night sky early on Friday morning. According to Ernest T. Wright, senior data visualizer at NASA, there is a lunar eclipse visible "somewhere every five to six months, and about 30% of those are total." Additionally, total solar eclipses typically appear "between six months and three years" above a particular area -- meaning that a total solar eclipse isn't always seen above the U.S. like it will on Friday.
Arriving with the total lunar eclipse is the blood moon phenomenon, which will give the moon a reddish appearance, according to NASA. Blood moons occur during the total lunar eclipse when light from the edges of Earth's atmosphere reflects off the moon's surface, which gives the moon the red appearance.
For those that miss this total eclipse, they'll have to wait until March 3, 2026 for the next total lunar eclipse in the Americas, according to NASA.
Here's what Connecticut skygazers need to know about the upcoming blood moon and total lunar eclipse.
NASA predicts that the moon will begin to enter the Earth's penumbra, which is the outer part of the shadow, around 11:57 p.m. on Thursday, March 13. At 1:09 a.m., the partial eclipse will begin as the moon enters the Earth's umbra, the dark center of the shadow. Totality of the lunar eclipse is estimated to be around 2:26 a.m., when the moon will be fully obscured by the Earth's umbra. The moon will appear "coppery red" at this point, according to NASA.
Totality will end around 3:31 a.m. as the moon leaves the Earth's umbra and moves to the penumbra. The partial eclipse will end at 4:47 a.m. while the penumbral eclipse, the last part of the eclipse, will end around 6:00 a.m.
The total lunar eclipse is best seen under clear skies, according to the Weather Channel. However, in Connecticut, it will be mostly cloudy skies on Thursday evening going into Friday, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). In Connecticut, cloud coverage is expected to range from 59 to 78% around 2 a.m. on Friday with the northwestern part of the state having the least amount of cloud coverage, according to NWS data.
The cloud cover may make seeing the full, total lunar eclipse more difficult.
Blood moon describes the look of the moon when it turns a reddish color during the lunar eclipse. This happens when the moon is obscured by the Earth's umbra during totality.
Blood moon also describes full moons during the autumn season when the leaves are turning red, according to NASA.
NASA recommends binoculars or a telescope to get the best view of the moon during totality. Additionally, if taking a picture of the eclipse, NASA said that using a camera with a tripod will be best with exposure that lasts a couple of seconds.
According to Wright, the lunar eclipse is safe to look at without eclipse glasses and can be viewed without binoculars or telescopes, even though they "enhance the view."