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  • The Good—and Bad—News About Next Week’s Total Lunar Eclipse

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    On March 3, skywatchers in North America, Australia, New Zealand, and eastern Asia will be treated to a special total lunar eclipse when the full Moon will don a spooky reddish hue.

    Next week, the Moon will enter behind Earth’s shadow and become illuminated by the Sun’s light as it passes through the planet’s atmosphere. The filtered sunlight will cast a warm glow on the Moon’s disk, giving it a temporary deep orange to red color.

    Where can I watch the total lunar eclipse

    The full blood Moon will be visible in North America and is the last one we’ll see for nearly three years until December 2028. While totality will be visible in the evening for viewers in eastern Asia and Australia and throughout the night in the Pacific, it will occur in the early morning hours in North and Central America and far western South America, according to NASA.

    The Moon will begin to enter Earth’s shadow at 3:44 a.m. ET, and the partial eclipse will occur at 4:50 a.m. ET. During the partial eclipse, it will appear as though a piece of the Moon has been bitten off as one side of the lunar disk appears very dark.

    Totality, when the entire Moon is in the Earth’s umbra, begins at 6:04 a.m. ET and lasts for around an hour. That’s when the Moon turns a bloody, copper red.

    Visibility map of the March 3 total lunar eclipse. Credit: NASA

    For skywatchers in eastern North America, the blood Moon may not appear as dramatic as it will along the west coast or in other parts of the world. That’s because totality will occur around the same time as sunrise, and the skies won’t be dark enough to view the blood Moon in all its glory. The blood Moon will sink in the west right before dawn. This presents yet another challenge for skywatchers in the Eastern Time Zone, as the Moon will set before the eclipse reaches its maximum.

    A partial lunar eclipse will also appear in Central Asia and parts of South America.

    How to view the total lunar eclipse

    Despite these challenges, you can still try to catch a glimpse of the blood Moon. A total lunar eclipse doesn’t require any special equipment—you can see it with the naked eye. For the best view, head somewhere dark and give your eyes time to adjust to the night sky.

    At the time of the eclipse, the Moon will be in the constellation Leo. As the Moon’s light is dimmed by Earth’s shadow, it’s also an opportune time to view other celestial objects in the sky, as constellations appear brighter when they’re not competing with the natural satellite.

    The next total lunar eclipse will take place on New Year’s Eve in 2028. It will be the first in a series of three lunar eclipses in a row, with the following one on June 26, 2029, and the next on December 20, 2029.

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    Passant Rabie

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  • Meteor shower, super moon, lunar eclipse; Colorado’s winter night skies will blow you away

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    Colorado winters in the mountains are beautiful, but not every view can be seen during the day. There are times at night when the full moon illuminates a surreal snowscape, creating beautiful shapes and shadows, even revealing dramatic snow-covered mountains miles away.

    And sometimes, on moonless nights when the sky is especially dark and the air is crystal clear — as is often the case on a cold winter night — the Milky Way can be admired in all its glory.

    DENVER, CO – NOVEMBER 05: Super moon with a little cloud cover and the Elitches Observation Tower in the foreground photographed west of Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on Wednesday, November 05, 2025. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)

    “If you can get away from bright city lights and light pollution, the Milky Way always looks cool, no matter where you are – desert, mountains, wherever,” said Ron Hranac, a past president of the Denver Astronomical Society. “There are people who live in major metropolitan areas who have never seen the Milky Way. They have no idea what it is.

    “I hear that and it makes me sad,” Hranac added, “because they’re missing out on so much.”

    Winter can be a great time to look up and admire the heavens, and this one will be no exception. The night of Dec. 4-5 will mark the brightest super moon of 2025, as it is the full moon closest to earth this year. The Geminids meteor shower, which a NASA astronomy educational site calls one of the best and most reliable meteor showers of the year, peaks Dec. 13-14.

    Colorado will also see a total lunar eclipse in the western sky on March 3, 2026, from 4:04 a.m. to 5:02 a.m., well before the sunrise at 6:29 a.m.

    Moonlight ski touring and snowshoeing in Colorado is a transcendent experience. Boreas Pass, which is near Breckenridge, and Vail Pass are excellent options because the ascents are moderate and the trail is actually a dirt road for motor vehicles in the summer, making it plenty wide for touring in low light. And remember, your eyes will adjust to the dark. You may be shocked by how much you can see, and how far.

    The Milky Way is visible in the summer, too. But the night sky in the mountains can be especially clear on really cold winter nights because cold air can’t contain as much moisture as warmer air.

    There are exceptions, though.

    “The downside of being in the mountains of Colorado at a higher elevation is, the air stability is not always that great,” Hranac said. “We often get the jet stream going overhead or nearby, and that can mess up (atmospheric) stability.”

    Saturn will be visible for the next few months, Hranac said, appearing in the southeast sky early in the evening. It will look like a moderately bright star to the naked eye, but its rings will be visible through telescopes.

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    John Meyer

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  • Strange Green Glow From Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Has Scientists Puzzled

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    Images of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS snapped during the September 7 total lunar eclipse seem to suggest that the latest visitor to the Solar System may be turning green.

    That’s not all that strange for a comet. Many Solar System comets give off a green glow when they heat up enough to emit vapor. However, for 3I/ATLAS, it might be quite strange: observations of the comet’s chemistry obtained to date show very few signs of the dicarbon (C2) molecules usually responsible for a comet’s green glow.

    This could mean that the C2 is there, but yet to be detected. Or there could be another molecule responsible for making the comet appear green. Either way, the implication is that the chemistry of 3I/ATLAS still has some secrets it is yet to divulge.

    Related: Images Show Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS Is Now Growing a Tail

    The images were taken by astrophotographers Gerald Rhemann and Michael Jäger from Namibia during the total lunar eclipse that took place on the night of 7 September 2025.

    As a comet grows closer to the Sun, the ices that are bound up around its rocky nucleus begin to sublime, turning into a gas atmosphere, or coma. Molecules in this gas, stimulated by solar radiation, then fluoresce, glowing with light in a range of visible, near-infrared, ultraviolet, and radio wavelengths.

    We know from JWST observations that 3I/ATLAS has a peculiar chemical composition that contains larger than usual proportions of carbon dioxide. Other observations so far also show the presence of nickel and cyanogen. But these don’t normally make comets emit green fluorescence, and the molecule that does has not been found.

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    The problem is even thornier than a mere non-detection of C2 might indicate. According to a preprint led by astronomer Luis Salazar Manzano of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, the early detection of cyanogen implies a strong depletion of carbon-chain molecules – including both C2 and C3.

    “Our upper limit on the C2-to-CN ratio,” they write, “places 3I/ATLAS among the most carbon-chain depleted comets known.”

    So there’s a fascinating mystery there. Here’s hoping our scientists can collect enough data to solve it when the comet makes its closest pass to Earth in December.

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  • Michigan missed out on lunar eclipse, but a supermoon is on the way. Here’s when to see it

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    Michigan missed out on a recent “blood moon” lunar eclipse, but just after the official start of fall the year’s first supermoon will rise in the night sky.

    The harvest moon is the first of three consecutive full supermoons in 2025 and will peak at night on Oct. 6, according to Astronomy Magazine.

    Set to come two weeks after the autumnal equinox, the harvest moon will provide several nights of bright moonlight in early October, the Old Farmer’s Almanac says.

    Keep an eye out for clear skies to ensure ideal viewing in Michigan, with the full moon expected to appear larger, lower on the horizon, EarthSky and the Old Farmer’s Almanac both said.

    Here’s what to know about the harvest moon.

    Is the harvest moon a supermoon?

    Yes, the harvest moon will be the first full supermoon of 2025, according to Moon Phase Today.

    Why is it called a harvest moon?

    The harvest moon is the full moon that occurs closest to the autumnal equinox, either in September or October, typically in September, though this year will be in early October, EarthSky says.

    The proximity to the equinox creates the “harvest moon effect,” as the full or nearly full moon rises near sunset for several nights in a row around the time of the harvest, creating bright moonlight from dusk to dawn, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, Astronomy Magazine and EarthSky.

    When will the harvest moon peak?

    The harvest moon will peak during at night at 11:47 p.m. on Oct. 6, 2025.

    How did the harvest moon get its name?

    The time traditionally represented an ideal period for farmers to harvest their crops later into the night, hence the name harvest moon, the Old Farmer’s Almanac says.

    When is the autumnal equinox?

    The fall equinox — the end of summer and start of fall 2025 — takes place at 2:19 p.m. Sept. 22, 2025, the Old Farmer’s Almanac said.

    What phase of the lunar cycle is the moon in now?

    The moon is currently in its waning gibbous phase, at 94% illumination, according to Space.com. The moon’s next phases in September 2025 are:

    When are the remaining supermoons in 2025?

    The next full supermoons will peak Nov. 5 and Dec. 4, according to Moon Phase Today.

    How far away from the Earth is the moon?

    The average distance between the Earth and the moon is 238,855 miles.

    At its farthest from the Earth, the moon is about 252,088 miles away and astronomers say it’s at apogee.

    When the moon is at perigee, it’s 225,623 miles away.

    When is the next full moon?

    The beaver moon, also a supermoon, will peak Nov. 5, 2025.

    Contact Jenna Prestininzi: jprestininzi@freepress.com.

    This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan will see a supermoon in October. When to see the harvest moon

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