Time to crank up the Grateful Dead’s “Dark Star” or Pink Floyd’s “Eclipse” in time for the lunar eclipse that will be very visible in tonight’s sky.
This is the first “end-to-end” lunar eclipse visible in the Buffalo skies since 2022, and the next full ‘end-to-end” eclipse viewed locally won’t happen again until June 2029, says Tim Collins, Buffalo Astronomical Association director.
In his words, it will look like someone took a giant bite out of the moon
And, this is different from last spring’s solar eclipse that took place in the mid-afternoon hours.
Still, according to Visit Buffalo Niagara, “Eclipse Heads” have arrived to witness the celestial event that begins just before midnight tonight and will end around 6 a.m. Friday.
Collins says the peak viewing time will be around 2:58 a.m.
“The moon is going to begin its approach behind the earth, and the earth will begin to cast a shadow on the surface of the moon. It'll be a round shadow, it'll look like somebody's taking a bite out of the moon,” Collins said.
The eclipse comes against the backdrop of a full moon to add to its dramatic viewing, and unlike last year, Collins says the weather looks very promising.
“The skies now look clear tonight, so I think we have a great shot at this. Just a few clouds passing through, probably, but nothing that's going to obscure the Eclipse for too long,” Collins said.
The eclipse will be best seen looking south and then more southwest. By 6 a.m., as the eclipse winds down, it will be best viewed from the west.
“You'll see the red coloring start to move across the face of the moon at 1:09 a.m., and you'll see it until about 4:47 a.m., so that gives you about three and a half hours to see the red part of the totality,” Collins said.
Collins says if you miss tonight’s, there will be another, albeit not as dramatic, lunar eclipse next March.
