Specific Info for Total Lunar Eclipse of March 3
At all locations, observers should look for the rising moon in the east shortly after sunset Saturday night.
For U.S. observers, the total lunar eclipse of Saturday, March 3 will be best from the eastern part of the country.
From the U.S. east coast to approximately the Mississippi Valley, the moon will rise while the total eclipse is in progress. For observers from roughly the Mississippi to the Rockies, a partial eclipse should be easily visible. Westward from the Rockies only the final, penumbral stages will be visible. The penumbral stages of a lunar eclipse are subtle; only the most observant will notice them.
Here’s a link to a great custom sunrise and moonrise calendar.
http://www.sunrisesunset.com/custom_srss_calendar.asp It can help you figure out the time of moonrise in your location. If the moon is below your horizon during any of the times listed below, you will not see that phase of the eclipse.
Partial eclipse begins: 3:30:22 pm CT (4:30 pm ET, 2:30 pm MT, 1:30 pm PT)
Total eclipse begins: 4:44:13 pm CT (5:44 pm ET, 3:44 pm MT, 2:44 pm PT)
Greatest eclipse: 5:20:56 pm CT (6:21 pm ET, 4:21 pm MT, 3:21 pm PT)
Total eclipse ends: 5:57:37 pm CT (6:58 pm ET, 4:58 pm MT, 3:58 pm PT)
Partial eclipse ends: 7:11:28 pm CT (8:11 pm ET, 6:11 pm MT, 5:11 pm PT)
These areas will not see this eclipse: far northwestern British Columbia, the western part of the Yukon Territory and all of Alaska and Hawaii.
West coast observers take heart! You will see all of a predawn total lunar eclipse on August 27.
This image shows the stages of a total lunar eclipse. At top left, you see the full moon before Earth's shadow falls upon it. As the eclipse progresses, you can see a dark shadow - Earth's shadow - begin to obscure more and more of the moon's face. During the total phase of the eclipse, when the moon is completely within Earth's shadow, the moon turns reddish in color! That's because some sunlight is filtering through Earth's atmosphere, coloring the shadow on the moon.
