Clear skies likely for early a.m. lunar eclipse

A total lunar eclipse in the wee hours of Wednesday morning should give Inland Northwest sky watchers a chance at seeing the moon bathed in reddish-orange light that passes through the Earth’s atmosphere. Forecasters are calling for mostly clear skies in the region. The eclipse color can vary from copper to blood red depending on the amount of dust or smoke in the atmosphere. The initial faint eclipse of the moon starts at 1:15 a.m. with the moon becoming progressively darker as the Earth’s shadow crosses over the full moon. The total eclipse begins at 3:25 a.m. and continues for about an hour. In some areas along the eastern U.S. the total eclipse will continue through sunrise, creating the possibility of seeing both the rising sun and the setting eclipsed moon at the same time, in part because light from those bodies is bent upward from the Earth’s atmosphere.