LUNAR ECLIPSE "BLOOD MOON" COMING

Occurring in the early hours of the morning on April 4, the show will turn the Moon a deep shade of orange across the skies of Alabama. A lunar eclipse is a fairly rare treat.

It's called a blood moon, and this one is the third in a series of four consecutive total eclipses.
 
North America will be able to see a blood moon one more time this fall. The moon takes on this color during the eclipse as it passes through the Earth's shadow, which is the color of a desert sunset.

The four blood moons have and will occur in roughly six-month intervals on the following dates: April 15, 2014; October 8, 2014; April 4, 2015, and September 28, 2015.

For gazing geeks, NASA has set up a live web chat to answer questions about the eclipse around 3:00 am, April 4.  The heavenly curtain rises on the lunar review around 3:31 a.m, when the moon starts to slide into Earth's shadow.  It should turn into a blood moon -- a coppery red -- about an hour later and stay that way for a few hours.

Event	Time in Elkmont*	Visible in Elkmont
Penumbral Eclipse begins	Apr 4 at 3:31 AM	Yes
Partial Eclipse begins	Apr 4 at 4:34 AM	Yes
Full Eclipse begins	Apr 4 at 5:39 AM	Yes
Maximum Eclipse	Apr 4 at 6:21 AM	Yes
Full Eclipse ends	Apr 4 at 7:02 AM	No, below horizon
Partial Eclipse ends	Apr 4 at 8:07 AM	No, below horizon
Penumbral Eclipse ends	Apr 4 at 9:10 AM	No, below horizon

* The Moon is below the horizon in Elkmont some of the time, so that part of the eclipse is not visible.