Total lunar eclipse visible 'just about anywhere'

If the clouds clear, Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois will have a rare chance to see a total lunar eclipse tonight.

The eclipse will be the first visible in the United States in three years. It will appear in North America late today and then be seen before dawn Friday in western Europe and southern Africa.

"A lunar eclipse is something you can watch from just about anywhere," said Dr. Margaret Hill, who teaches astronomy classes at Southeast Missouri State University.

And this eclipse is coming at a fairly convenient time, she said. The sky should begin getting dark around 8:30 p.m. and the eclipse will be visible around 9 p.m.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth casts its shadow on the full moon, blocking the sunlight that otherwise reflects off the moon's surface.

Unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses are safe to view with the naked eye.

"You never know how dark it will be or what color the moon takes on," she said. The moon takes on a colored tint "because the atmosphere around the Earth still has light around it," Hill said.

Though it's always better to see an eclipse from a dark area, just watching from a back yard is acceptable. "It's always better in darker surroundings because the contrast is better," Hill said. "But that shouldn't discourage anyone from seeing the eclipse."

In North America, the moon will remain totally eclipsed for 53 minutes, and should turn substantially darker and reddish in color.

A second lunar eclipse, on Nov. 8, will be visible from North and South America.

Eclipses once helped prove the Earth is round, because its shadow on the moon is curved.