Blood Moon Lunar Eclipse Will Be Visible Next Week In Illinois

The extended weather outlook says skies should be clear for a pretty spectacular sky show coming up next week, so I thought I'd give you enough of a heads-up now that you don't accidentally miss it.

On this coming Thursday night, August 27th, the full moon will put on one heck of a disappearing act as a deep partial lunar eclipse takes place over Northern Illinois.

And, even though I called it a "Blood Moon," there's a little technical fine print.

This isn't a total lunar eclipse. Instead, about 93%-96% of the Moon will be covered by Earth's darkest shadow at maximum eclipse here in Northern Illinois. That's close enough though, because the eclipsed portion of the Moon can take on that familiar eerie reddish-orange or copper color that gives Blood Moons their nickname.

orange moon in the sky

Here's The Part You'll Want To Remember

In Northern Illinois, the Moon will enter the outer portion of Earth's shadow at about 8:23 Thursday night, with the actual partial eclipse beginning around 9:33. Maximum eclipse arrives at approximately 11:12, when the Moon will be about 33 degrees above the southern horizon. The partial eclipse will continue until about 12:51am, with the entire eclipse wrapping up around 2:01 Friday morning.

As to why the Moon turns read during a lunar eclipse, Earth gets directly between the Sun and Moon, blocking much of the sunlight that normally illuminates the lunar surface. Some sunlight passes through Earth's atmosphere, however, and our atmosphere scatters away much of the blue light while allowing more red and orange light through.

That reddish light reaches the Moon and gets reflected back toward us. It's basically a sunrise and sunset happening around the entire edge of Earth at the same time.

blood moon

Here's The Best News Of All (Especially If You Remember That Recent Solar Eclipse)

You don't need special glasses, a telescope, or any fancy equipment to watch a lunar eclipse.

Just find a spot with a good view of the sky and look up. Binoculars or a telescope can make it even more impressive, but your eyeballs will work just fine.

So, put Thursday night on the calendar. If those clear skies predictions hold up, Northern Illinois could be in for one beautiful and slightly bloody night under the Moon.