On Friday, March 14, the Northland will experience a total lunar eclipse. It is the first total lunar eclipse since 2022. The partial eclipse will start at 12:10am, with the total eclipse beginning at 1:26am, maxing out at 1:58am, and ending at 3:48am.
"You're saying to yourself 'I'm not going to stay up for 3 hours on that morning, Friday morning,'" said Bob King. "What you can do is maybe get up at 2:00am when the moon is smack in the middle of the eclipse and that's when it will have its coolest, reddish orange color to it."
This eclipse has the extraordinary timing to occur on March 14, or Pi Day, named for the famous mathematical constant, 3.14. However, one might have noticed that the eclipse will not only be occurring on Pi Day, but also maxing out around 1:59am, making this a Pi Minute eclipse (March 14, 1:59am or 3.14159).
Besides the date and time, there is one other remarkable piece to this eclipse. A private company recently sent a probe to the moon, which will be sending images of the eclipse from the moon's perspective. It will be the first high resolution image of the event from the vantage point of the moon.
You can hear Astro Bob's Backyard Astronomy every other Tuesday at 8:20am on Northland Morning.
