A total lunar eclipse may be visible from North America on the night of Thursday, March 13.
The eclipse will begin around 9 p.m. It will last around six hours, with the maximum coverage occurring almost exactly at midnight and ending completely around 3 a.m. the next day, according to Eclipse Guide, a free and interactive app by the developers of Star Walk.
Earth will pass between the sun and the moon, blocking light on the lunar surface. The sunlight will curve around Earth and pass through the atmosphere, removing colors out of its spectrum and leaving only red light hitting the moon.
Unfortunately, clouds and rain are forecasted in San Francisco, meaning this eclipse might not be visible.
Harry Hazen, a communications graduate student, said he does not plan on watching the lunar eclipse because the time of totality is too early in the morning and clouds might block the view.
“I also live in Daly City, and I’m not sure if the weather conditions are gonna be adequate and appropriate for viewing,” said Hazen.
Some students shared their experiences observing the sky.
Josalyn Wells, a Broadcast Electronic Communication Arts student, reacted enthusiastically to hearing about the eclipse.
“Me and my roommates do this thing whenever there’s a night event, like a meteor shower or a planet retrograding — we’ll sit outside and write in our journals,” Wells said. “I’m into astrology and stargazing but I wouldn’t say I’m a professional. I’ve taken an astronomy class and know about basic star formations in the sky.”
Addie Rajan, a first-year international relations student, has never seen an eclipse before and was excited about the possibility of witnessing the lunar eclipse.
“Stargazing is always a lovely event to go to,” Rajan said. “I think last week we had a lot of open skies and less clouds. So it was a lot easier, but I mean, if the weather clears up by tomorrow… stargazing is always fantastic for friends and family.”
Rajan also had advice for people who are new to astronomy.
“If you’ve never stargazed before, just looking up constellations and stuff is always nice because there’s always stories attached to it that you can really connect with,” Rajan said.
Eddie Monares, Neal Wong and Paula Sibulo contributed reporting to this story.
