Total lunar eclipse will be visible in Alabama Nov. 8

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - Mark your calendars for an astronomical event you don’t want to miss. Next Tuesday, November 8th, starting just after 2 a.m. a total lunar eclipse will occur in Alabama’s night sky.

Total lunar eclipses are very special and worthwhile for all types of audiences. They only occur, on average, 1-2 times per year. This one will be the second of 2022, and the last one that we will see in the Southeast until 2025!

In Montgomery it all begins at 2:02 a.m. Tuesday and ends at 7:56 a.m. Technically speaking the moon will set around 6:15 a.m. so the last 90+ minutes of the event will not be visible in Alabama.

That doesn’t matter because the main event is when the total stage of the lunar eclipse happens. That will happen between 4:16 a.m. and 5:41 a.m. in Central Alabama. The official time for “peak eclipse” is 4:59 a.m. in Montgomery. That’s also known as the midway point of the entire event.

So what can you expect to see?

Pure awesomeness. That’s what.

O.K. seriously, you can expect to see the full Beaver Moon turn a blood-orange-red color as it will be fully within Earth’s dark shadow -- called the umbra. This reddish color will be present between 4:16 a.m. and 5:41 a.m. during the total eclipse phase.

Before the reddish color and total eclipse happen the penumbral and partial eclipse will occur. Those are simply the first phases of the total eclipse as the moon enters Earth’s outer shadow. While in the outer shadow -- called the penumbra -- the moon will not be reddish in color. That happens once the moon gets into the dark shadow.

But the beginning stages of the total eclipse are still worth watching so you can see the entirety of the event. After the moon leaves the dark shadow and loses its reddish color, the event winds down as the partial and penumbral eclipses then end.

For Alabama the moon sets around 6:15 a.m. That means we will not be able to see the ending stages, but as I mentioned above that doesn’t make this any less awesome. Just be sure to have a view to the west and northwest because the moon will be getting close to the horizon in that direction as the event happens.

For more details on timing, and for checking your exact location’s information regarding the eclipse, click this link.

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