Tonight is one of the best skywatching nights of the year. The planet Mars blazes through the night like a brilliant orange beacon, with the bright star Spica nearby. But what really elevates the night is a total lunar eclipse, which takes place just a few degrees away from Mars. The eclipse occurs as the Moon passes through Earth’s long shadow. The Moon’s orbit is tilted a little, so most months the Moon passes outside the shadow. This month, though, the geometry is just right, creating a total eclipse. The Moon first touches the dark inner shadow at 12:58 a.m. Central Daylight Time. Over the following hour, the shadow will appear to take a bigger and bigger “bite” out of the lunar disk. The Moon will be fully immersed by 2:06, and will remain totally eclipsed for almost an hour and 20 minutes. Sunlight filtering through Earth’s atmosphere usually gives the eclipsed Moon a dark orange or red color, although your ability to see it depends on your viewing conditions and your color sensi
