12 hours Ago By Miguel Ambriz
The moon will provide a rare celestial spectacle to the Space City as it orbits through Earth's shadow early Friday — if clouds don’t get in the way. A total lunar eclipse will turn the moon into a "blood" red. According to NASA , Houston-area residents could begin to see the moon's transformation around 12:47 a.
m. Friday until 3:10 a.m.
, with the totality of the eclipse occurring between 1:26-2:31 a.m. But the Weather Channel forecasts cloudy overnight skies in the Houston area, with some winds.
Around the time of the eclipse, there could be significant cloud coverage. According to Carolyn Summers, vice president of astronomy at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, "If the moon looks good from your window, it’ll look good when it turns red." Summers recommends staying up late to enjoy the rare event.
"Everybody on the side of the Earth that we’re on can see it at the exact same time," Summers said. "So you can share the sky with somebody who’s thousands of miles away." The total lunar eclipse, also known as a "blood moon," occurs when the sun, Earth and moon align.
As the light from the sun passes through Earth's atmosphere, longer-wavelength light like red and orange are projected onto the moon. The moon, hidden by Earth's darkest and innermost shadow, called the umbra , is then illuminated, giving it a red hue. According to NASA, the last blood moon visible in Houston occurred in November 2022.
The next one is expected in September but will be visible only in the eastern hemisphere. Most of the continental U.S.
is going to be in the path of this week’s lunar eclipse, according to NASA's scientific visualization studio . According to NASA, the next blood moon that can be seen in the Houston area will be on March 3, 2026..
