When is the lunar eclipse? Here’s how to see tonight’s eclipse in Oklahoma

Oklahomans will see a total lunar eclipse Thursday night, the first since November 2022. Although the moon will rise at 7:16 p.m. CT, the eclipse will begin later.

Because the moon turns a coppery red during eclipses, they have earned the nickname “Blood Moons” to reflect the change in hue when it peaks.

This full moon has many names other than Blood Moon, including the Crow, Crust, Sap, Sugar and Worm moon. Each name is associated with Native American tribes across the different regions.

Here’s what you need to know to prepare for the “Blood Worm Moon” Total Lunar Eclipse.

Is there a Lunar Eclipse tonight?

Yes. After the moonrise at 7:16 p.m. central time on Thursday, the moon will slowly enter the Earth’s umbra – or shadow – before it reaches totality at 1:26 a.m. on Friday.

Totality is predicted to just over an hour minutes and end at 2:31 a.m. on Friday.

What’s the moon’s schedule during the eclipse?

The moon should be very easy to spot throughout the night as it fades from its signature gray tone to a bright orange. Here’s when to expect the moon in all its stages tonight and tomorrow morning:

• Moonrise: 7:16 p.m. CT, Thursday

• Penumbral eclipse begins: 10:57 p.m. CT, Thursday

• Partial eclipse begins: 12:09 a.m. CT, Friday

• Totality begins: 1:26 a.m. CT, Friday

• Greatest eclipse: 1:59 a.m. CT, Friday

• Totality ends: 2:31 a.m. CT, Friday

• Partial eclipse ends: 3:47 a.m. CT, Friday

• Penumbral eclipse ends: 5 a.m. CT, Friday

Lunar Eclipse Visibility Map

Here is a map of what the different parts of the world will see during the eclipse.

When does the lunar eclipse begin?

The Lunar Eclipse begins totality at 1:26 a.m. CT on Friday morning. The moon will peak at 1:59 a.m. and leave totality at 2:31 a.m.

Why does the moon turn red during a lunar eclipse?

According to NASA, the same effects that make the sky blue make the moon red. As sunlight reaches Earth’s atmosphere, it is refracted toward the surface.

Blue light has a shorter wavelength and scatters relatively easily, so our sky often appears blue. Reddish light, which travels more directly in the air, manifests to ground observers during sunrises and sunsets when the sun is near the horizon and its incoming light travels at a longer, low-angle path through Earth’s atmosphere.

That’s similar to what happens on the moon during a total lunar eclipse, when sunlight is again refracted towards the surface of the fully eclipsed Moon. Even though Earth blocks sunlight from directly reaching the moon during a total lunar eclipse, our planet’s atmosphere still bends sunlight to light up the lunar surface indirectly.

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

When is the next total lunar eclipse?

After this year’s total lunar eclipse, we won’t have to wait as long for the next eclipse to be visible over the United States in March 2026, according to NASA.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: When is the eclipse? How to see blood moon eclipse tonight in Oklahoma