Later tonight, those of us in North America will have a front-row seat for a total lunar eclipse taking place in the wee hours of the night.
The celestial action will begin at 12:54 a.m. ET and last through 6:38 a.m. However, the moon will fall completely behind the Earth's shadow between 3:07 a.m. and 4:25 a.m.
A lunar eclipse is the result of the moon passing through the Earth's shadow. During a total eclipse the moon will appear to dim as it passes through the Earth's penumbra (part of the shadow where some solar light can still pass) before diving into the umbra where light refracted through the Earth's atmosphere makes the moon appear a deep shade of red (thus why total lunar eclipses are sometimes referred to as a "blood moon").
Weather permitting, the eclipse will be visible with the naked eye, however a set of binoculars or backyard telescope should make the action appear all that more vivid. Learn more in the video below. Shutterbugs hoping to capture the eclipse should check out PCMag's 6 Tips for Better Moon Photos.
Getting more out of the experience
If you want to get a bit more science into the experience, NASA astronomer Mitzi Adams and astrophysicist Alphonse Sterling will answer questions during a live Web chat on Nasa.gov beginning at 1 a.m. ET and continuing through the end of the eclipse.
If you aren't in the eclipse viewing area or the cloud gods won't cooperate, you can watch a livestream on NASA's live Ustream as well as on communal telescope organization, Slooh's live YouTube feed (embedded below). In addition, Slooh will offer coverage through its iPad Celestial Event Viewer (free on iTunes).
If you happen to miss this eclipse, don't worry, there will be a second total lunar eclipse visible from North America on Oct. 8.