Your last chance to witness a total lunar eclipse for the next few years will occur on Tuesday, Nov. 8, but there's a slight catch: You'll have to head outside during the wee hours of the morning if you want to get a good glimpse of it.
Total lunar eclipses happen when the moon moves into the Earth's shadow during an alignment of the Earth, moon and sun. When the full moon enters the darkest part of that shadow, known as the Earth's "umbra," it takes on a fiery reddish color. That's because the sunlight that shines on the moon during an eclipse must first pass through our atmosphere, which scatters blue light and allows red light — which has a long wavelength, and can better travel through all the material in between it and the moon — to shine on the lunar surface, according to NASA.
During this particular event, a partial eclipse will begin at 4:09 a.m. EST. You'll be able to tell it's happening because the moon will slowly be swallowed by our planet's shadow. At 5:17 a.m. EST, the moon will fully enter the umbra — a state called "totality" — and the eerie red glow will linger through 6:42 a.m. EST. (Check out NASA's timetable for more information about each stage of the eclipse.)
The color will then begin to dissipate as the moon leaves the Earth's shadow, though the setting of the moon will obscure the tail end of this process in some places, depending on your time zone. People in North and Central America, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and parts of South America will be able to observe totality (weather permitting), NASA says. Time and Date offers an interactive map> you can use to get a sense of your local timing on each stage of the eclipse.
Graphic by Megan McGrew/ PBS NewsHour
The next opportunity to view a total lunar eclipse will be on March 14, 2025.
If you're up for some more casually timed viewing, two related meteor showers are expected to have peaks this month. The Southern Taurids will have a peak on the night between Nov. 4 and 5, and the Northern Taurids will have one between Nov. 11 and 12, according to the American Meteorological Society. The AMS notes that the Taurids will be viewable anywhere on Earth aside from a small portion of the Southern Hemisphere.
The Taurids aren't known for offering particularly frequent meteor activity, and the bulk of them will be obscured by the fairly full moon during both of those peaks, but it's not all bad news. This particular year is expected to be more active than usual for the Southern Taurids, and it may feature more fireballs — meteors that are brighter than everything in the sky aside from the sun and moon, according to the AMS's website. The society recommends having a look for them during the two or so weeks around Nov. 5, and though the optimal sky-gazing time occurs after midnight, you can give it a shot at any point in the night, the organization said.
If these opportunities appeal to your inner amateur astronomer, make a plan to get outside, find a visible stretch of sky (ideally one that's free from too much light pollution) and enjoy these cosmic shows.