‘Blood Moon’ Total Lunar Eclipse Over Pittsburgh Early Friday Morning

By Lou Feng

A photo of a total lunar eclipse, also known as a “blood moon.” The photo was taken during the Jan. 2019 eclipse by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. **Courtesy of M. Kornmesser (ESA/Hubble) via Wikimedia Commons**

From Thursday night to Friday morning, a total lunar eclipse was visible across the entire continental United States. South America and parts of Africa were also able to enjoy this celestial phenomenon. The lunar eclipse on March 13 was the first total lunar eclipse in over two years. Celestial transit began at 11:57 p.m. EDT on Thursday and concluded at 6:01 a.m. EDT on Friday. According to NASA, totality started at 2:26 a.m. and lasted just over an hour.

Also referred to as a “blood moon,” a total lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth’s own shadow blocks light from the Sun hitting the moon, creating a Sun-Earth-moon sandwich. While equally as common as a total solar eclipse (occurring twice a year), lunar eclipses can be seen by a larger portion of the population due to the shadow of Earth being much larger than our moon’s. No special equipment is required to view a lunar eclipse either, creating the illusion that lunar eclipses are less rare than their solar counterparts.

The degrees of a lunar eclipse depend on how deeply into Earth’s shadow the moon crosses, which can be separated into the penumbra, the outer portion, and the umbra — the most opaque inner section. A total lunar eclipse only occurs when the moon passes into the umbra, while shadows from the penumbra only qualify as a partial lunar eclipse. As the moon travels from the penumbra into the umbra, light reflected by the moon’s surface dims, and the moon appears to wane in the span of a few hours. This resembles the visual phenomenon of a “bite” being taken out of the moon, much like the gradual dimming in a solar eclipse. When fully in the umbra however, the sunlight that reflects from the surface of the moon has been refracted by Earth’s atmosphere, which more readily scatters light from the blue end of the visible spectrum (hence our blue sky). The red wavelengths pass through, causing the deep crimson “blood moon” effect. In totality, the entire surface of the moon is visible, unlike a solar eclipse, when totality refers to the moment when the sun is completely covered.

The next total lunar eclipse visible in Pittsburgh will be in March 2026. But if you’re looking for a sooner celestial event, a partial solar eclipse will be visible in parts of Europe and North America on March 29 of this year.