Total Lunar Eclipse Will Turn Moon Blood Red for Michigan Viewers on March 3

A total lunar eclipse will paint the moon blood red on Tuesday, March 3. Michigan residents must wake before 4 a.m. Eastern Time to see it. Earth slides between the sun and moon, cutting off the moon's light supply.

The moon won't go dark. Instead, it will glow red. Earth's atmosphere filters sunlight and bends it around the planet's edge. Western North America gets the best view, with the blood moon hanging high overhead. Eastern states see deep-red totality from 6:25 to 6:33 a.m.—right at sunrise—when the moon sits low on the western horizon.

At 3:44 a.m., the penumbral eclipse starts, as per Patch. The moon enters Earth's outer shadow, dimming a bit. Then at 4:50 a.m., the partial eclipse kicks in as the umbra takes a visible dark bite from the lunar surface.

Total eclipse arrives at 6:04 a.m. The entire moon enters Earth's umbra. Blood moon phase begins. At 7:02 a.m., totality ends when the moon exits the umbra. Partial eclipse wraps up at 8:17 a.m. The penumbral eclipse finishes at 9:23 a.m.

NASA says Earth's shadow dims the moon enough that some constellations become easier to spot than during a typical full moon. The moon will be in Leo at the time, positioned under the lion's hind paws.

The seven-day outlook from the National Weather Service shows most of the state should have clear, sunny skies. The early forecast does hint at possible rain in southeastern Michigan.

Lunar eclipses happen only during full moons. March's full moon is called the "worm moon."

Where did that name come from? The Old Farmer's Almanac says there's debate. People once thought it referred to earthworms tunneling out after winter. But Captain Jonathan Carver's research from the 1760s suggests the name pointed to beetle larvae crawling out from thawing tree bark and winter hiding spots.