On Thursday night, September 26, there will be a total eclipse of the Moon. Weather permitting, of course, it will be visible from the Western Hemisphere.

The show starts at 7:12 p.m. (Central Daylight Time), when the Moon begins to pass into the Earth's penumbra (the part of the Earth's shadow in which the Sun is only partially hidden by the Earth). The Moon begins to enter the Earth's umbra (where the Sun is completely hidden by the Earth) at 8:12. This marks the beginning of the partial phase of the eclipse. The total eclipse begins at 9:19, when the Moon passes entirely into the umbra, and it lasts until 10:29, when part of the Moon first leaves the umbra and enters the penumbra. The eclipse is then partial until 11:36, at which time the last part of the Moon leaves the umbra.

This will be the last total lunar eclipse visible from this part of the world until the year 2000, although there will be a near-total lunar eclipse this coming spring (March 23).