The darkest part of Earth’s shadow, the umbra, will cover the moon during the brightest phases, Mar. 13-14 of this year. This phenomenon is the lunar eclipse of ‘25 that will be visible to the Pacific, both Americas, West Europe and West Africa regions. Lunar eclipses only occur at the full moon phase every 2.5 years. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) says this event will begin 8:57 p.m. PST.

“Lunar eclipses can be visible from everywhere on the night side of the Earth, if the sky is clear,” Timeanddate said.

The lunar eclipse happens when Earth is positioned between the moon and the sun angled 180 degrees, perfectly aligned, casting a shadow onto the moon’s surface and changing the moon’s color from a greyish-white to a reddish-orange over a period of time. 

Colors with shorter wavelengths, such as blue and violet, scatter easier than longer wavelengths, like red and orange. The colors red and orange are casted through the sun’s rays and into the atmosphere because they are longer wavelengths, and short wavelengths can’t travel to the moon, causing the iconic color that is recognized as a“blood moon”. This phenomenon is called Rayleigh scattering.

The lunar eclipse doesn’t only change the color of the moon, it also changes the tides in our ocean. During a full moon/lunar eclipse, “…average tidal ranges are slightly larger.  The gravitational pull of the sun is added to the gravitational pull of the moon on Earth, causing high tides to be a little higher and low tides to be a little lower than average. This occurrence is called spring tides and happens twice each lunar month.” National Ocean Service said.

High tides can come really close to the bike path at the Promenade beach and splash over, meaning that there’s most likely a full alignment in the moon, sun and earth. Lower tides can affect small animals that live in the sand or tide pools. Animals like sand crabs get exposed to the sun making them more vulnerable to predators. But higher tides protect animals with the water. Some low tides are really far out, so it’s great to walk your dog who has more room to run around.

Lunar eclipses occur anywhere from 0-3 times a year. The last lunar eclipse was 2 years ago, so make sure you don’t miss this one! Unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses can safely be seen with the naked eye. For the best view, drive out of the city and go  somewhere more rural, away from tall buildings. Driving on Foothill to Santa Paula or Ojai might get a nice view. Arroyo Verde Park is  local and is a beautiful scene to see the lunar eclipse.

“It’s as if all the world’s sunrises and sunsets are projected onto the moon,” NASA said.