On Nov. 8, the moon will offer an amazing sight that you won’t see again until 2025: a total lunar eclipse that will turn Earth’s nearest neighbor an eerie blood-red hue. If you’re planning to watch it online, you have several free options available.
The Beaver Blood Moon lunar eclipse, as it’s called (it happens during the Full Beaver Moon of November) will begin at 3:02 a.m. EST (0802 GMT) and reaches totality at 5:16 a.m. EST (1016 GMT) before ending at 8:56 a.m. EST (1356 GMT). The “blood moon” phase will be visible from North and Central America, as well as Hawaii, Alaska and parts of South America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, according to NASA (opens in new tab).
This will be the last lunar eclipse of 2022, and in fact the last eclipse of any type this year. But what if weather clouds your view of the full moon? Below is our rundown of the Nov. 8 total lunar eclipse webcasts we’ve found so far.
If you’re looking to photograph the moon, don’t miss our guides on how to photograph a lunar eclipse, as well as how to photograph the moon with a camera for some helpful tips to plan out your lunar photo session. Our overview on the best cameras for astrophotography and best lenses for astrophotography can help too.
More: Lunar eclipse guide: When, where and how to see them
TimeandDate.com Blood Moon lunar eclipse webcast
The website TimeandDate.com will host a livestream of the total eclipse of the moon starting at 4 a.m. EST (0900 GMT) on Nov. 8.
The webcast will show views of the major portion of the lunar eclipse, including totality, and is accompanied by a live blog by TimeandDate.com (opens in new tab) showcasing various milestones for the eclipse, including what else you can see in the night sky during the early-morning eclipse.
You can watch the live webcast on the TimeandDate.com eclipse blog, or directly from YouTube (opens in new tab).
Related: Amazing photos of the Super Flower Blood Moon lunar eclipse of 2022
Lowell Observatory lunar eclipse webcast
The Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona will also offer a free livestream of the lunar eclipse at 4 a.m. EST (0900 GMT).
The webcast will stream live on the Lowell Observatory YouTube page (it will be 2 a.m. local MST time in Arizona) and feature live commentary by Lowell historian Kevin Schindler and moon expert John Compton, according to an event description. The live commentary will run through totality.
“Stay up late with us for the total lunar eclipse on November 8th!” the observatory wrote on Twitter (opens in new tab), adding that the webcast will be available for folks who don’t plan to watch it live. “We’re having a late-night livestream from 2am–5am MST. Join us live with a cup of coffee or re-watch after a good night sleep. Set a reminder to watch at https://youtu.be/DsXS3iDs0yA (opens in new tab)!”
Virtual Telescope Project blood moon eclipse webcast
The online Virtual Telescope Project run by astrophysicist Gianluca Masi will offer a livestream of the lunar eclipse starting at 4:30 a.m. EST (0930 GMT). Masi will host the webcast from Ceccano, Italy, but feature live views from an international team of astrophotgraphers and observers across the visibility range.
The webcast will be streamed via YouTube (opens in new tab) and on the Virtual Telescope Project website (opens in new tab).
“Next 8 Nov. 2022, the Beaver Moon will offer us a superb total eclipse, visible from Australia, Asia and the Americas. As in the past, the Virtual Telescope Project will partner with some great astro-imagers around the globe, to bring to you the stunning beauty of such a unique event,” Masi wrote in a description (opens in new tab). “A wonderful example of cooperation through geographical borders!”
Griffith Observatory blood moon eclipse webcast
The famed Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, California will offer its own livestream of the lunar eclipse beginning at 3 a.m. EST (12 a.m. PST, 0800 GMT). It will run until 9 a.m. EST (6 a.m. PST, 1400 GMT).
While a link for the webcast is not available yet, it well be livestreamed on YouTube and you can visit the Griffith Observatory YouTube page (opens in new tab) or sign up there for alerts to know when it goes live.
“On November 8, one hundred percent of the round disk of the full Moon slowly moves into the dark shadow, and the bright Moon grows dim. The Moon does not, however, become completely dark,” the observatory wrote in an event description. Instead, it usually glows with a copper or red color, a result of sunlight being filtered and bent through the Earth’s atmosphere (much like a sunset).”
The Griffith Observatory will not be open to in-person viewing of the lunar eclipse, but will offer a time-lapse video of the event on its YouTube page at about 11 a.m. EST (8 a.m. PST, 1600 GMT).
How lunar eclipses occur and when’s the next one
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Total lunar eclipses occur when the moon passes behind Earth with respect to sun. This sends the moon into Earth’s shadow, blocking the sunlight that typically illuminates the moon as seen from Earth’s surface.
Since the moon’s orbit around Earth as a tilt, it doesn’t pass through the darkest part of Earth’s shadow, called the umbra, every month. When it passes through only part of Earth’s shadow, it creates a partial lunar eclipse. During a total lunar eclipse, the entire moon is in Earth’s shadow, turning it a blood-red color with light that is refracted through Earth’s atmosphere.
According to NASA, a total lunar eclipse occurs every 1.5 years or so, but multiple ones can occur in a year. The Nov. 8 blood moon is the second total lunar eclipse of 2022 and follows the Super Flower Blood Moon eclipse in May.
The next total lunar eclipse after Nov. 8 will be on March 13, 2025. There will be a second total lunar eclipse that year as well, on Sept. 7, 2025, according to NASA’s eclipse website. In 2023 and 2024, the moon will experience either partial lunar eclipse, when only part of the moon passes through the umbra, or an ever-so-slight penumbral eclipse, when the moon dips through the outermost layer of Earth’s shadow, called the penumbra.
Editor’s Note: If you snap an amazing lunar eclipse photo and would like to share it with Space.com’s readers, send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.
Email Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com (opens in new tab) or follow him @tariqjmalik (opens in new tab). Follow us @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab), Facebook (opens in new tab) and Instagram (opens in new tab).
