First total lunar eclipse in three years coming Tuesday

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Cape Canaveral, Florida — Better catch the moon fading on Tuesday — there won’t be a moon like this for the next three years.

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A total lunar eclipse can be seen across North America during the predawn hours, getting better as you go west, and can be seen over Asia, Australia, and the rest of the Pacific after sunset. As a bonus, Uranus will now be visible a finger’s width above the Moon, resembling a bright star.

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The whole thing lasts almost an hour and a half from 5:16 a.m. to 6:41 a.m. EST as the Earth passes directly between the Moon and the Sun.

Known as the Blood Moon, this moon appears reddish-orange in the light of Earth’s sunsets and sunrises. At the peak of the eclipse, the Moon is 390,653 kilometers away, according to NASA scientists. If the sky is clear, you can see it with binoculars or a telescope.

South America will catch a glimpse of Tuesday’s lunar eclipse, weather permitting. Africa, the Middle East and much of Europe will have to wait until 2025.

Among the companies providing a live stream of Tuesday’s Moon Festival are the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles and the Italy-based Virtual Telescope Project.

This is the second total lunar eclipse of the year. The first was in May. There won’t be another lunar eclipse until 2025. During that time, many partial lunar eclipses will be available.