“As maximum eclipse nears, the moon transforms into a deep crimson orb,” the space agency said. “That red color comes from the ring of all the sunsets and sunrises you’d see encircling our planet if you were an astronaut on the lunar surface right then.”

Lunar eclipses happen far less frequently than full moons, and not all of them are total eclipses. The next chance to see a blood moon lunar eclipse might be years away—in this case, another won’t happen until March of 2026 here in America. The last total lunar eclipse in America before this happened way back in 2022.

2:26 a.m. , Totality begins: The entire moon is now in the Earth’s umbra. The moon is tinted a coppery red. Try binoculars or a telescope for a better view. If you want to take a photo, use a camera on a tripod with exposures of at least several seconds.