Election Day lunar eclipse: See photos from around the world – USA TODAY
Early Tuesday, some Americans caught a glimpse of a total lunar eclipse – a phenomenon that won’t happen for another three years.
It’s the first Election Day total lunar eclipse in U.S. history, according to EarthSky.org
The eclipse was also visible in Asia, Australia and the Pacific, according to the website.
It began Tuesday at 3:02 a.m. EST and totality (when the moon is engulfed in Earth’s shadow) began at 5:16 a.m. EST and ended at 6:41 a.m. EST.
A total lunar eclipse occurs when the moon and the sun are on exact opposite sides of Earth, according to NASA., and is also called a blood moon.
When this happens, Earth blocks the sunlight that normally reaches the moon. Instead of that sunlight hitting the moon’s surface, Earth’s shadow falls on it.
While it has no special astronomical significance, the view of a blood moon in the sky shows a normally white moon turn red or murky brown, according to space.com
The next lunar eclipse visible in the U.S. will take place in March 2025, NASA said.
The next Election Day lunar eclipse is slated to take place in 372 years, on Nov. 8, 2394.
Contributing: Doyle Rice. Natalie Neysa Alund covers trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.
