A total lunar eclipse will grace the skies in the early morning hours of March 3, 2026, turning the moon a dramatic reddish-orange hue – a phenomenon often called a “blood moon.” The eclipse will be visible across eastern Asia and Australia in the evening, throughout the night in the Pacific, and in the early morning in North and Central America, as well as far western South America, according to NASA.
More than 3.3 billion people across the Americas, Asia, and Oceania are expected to have at least a partial view of the eclipse, as Earth passes directly between the sun and moon, casting a shadow across the lunar surface. The reddish coloration occurs given that sunlight is filtered through Earth’s atmosphere, scattering away most of the blue light and leaving the longer wavelengths of red and orange.
For those unable to view the eclipse directly due to location or weather conditions, several organizations will be hosting free livestreams. Time and Date will begin coverage at 4:30 a.m. EST (0930 GMT), featuring live views from Los Angeles and Western Australia, with commentary from journalist Anne Buckle and astrophysicist Graham Jones. The Virtual Telescope Project will stream the event starting at 3:30 a.m. EST (0830 GMT), offering a global perspective with contributions from astrophotographers in Australia, the United States, and Canada, and commentary from founder Gianluca Masi. Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles will also stream the eclipse, beginning at 3:37 a.m. EST (0837 GMT), providing coverage from the penumbral phase through totality.
The eclipse will be fully visible in eastern Asia and Australia, while central Asia and much of South America will experience a partial eclipse. Africa and Europe will not have any visibility of the event. Stargazers in the eastern U.S. May find the totality muted due to the eclipse occurring just before sunrise, potentially diminishing the intensity of the “blood moon” effect.
This total lunar eclipse is the last one expected until the Latest Year’s “Blood Moon” eclipse on December 31, 2028, and January 1, 2029. Individuals wishing to share their own photographs of the eclipse can submit them to spacephotos@space.com for potential inclusion in Space.com’s coverage.
