There will be a total lunar eclipse on election day. How to see it

According to experts, Americans who wake up early to head to the polls on November 8 will be able to witness the first-ever total lunar eclipse on Election Day. This is a rare phenomenon that won’t happen again for many centuries, according to experts.

“With about 3 lunar eclipses per year, one would expect this to be something that has already happened,” Tony Rice, NASA’s ambassador for the solar system, wrote in a newsletter.

But Election Day in the United States has only been officially held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November since 1845, when the Presidential Election Day Act was passed, Rice writes.

Until that point, “states were allowed to hold elections whenever they wanted 34-day period by the first Wednesday of December,” according to the History Channel.

This year’s first election day lunar eclipse — the result of the Moon, Earth and Sun aligning, allowing the Moon to pass into Earth’s shadow — will be the last total lunar eclipse until 2025according to NASA.

According to NASA, no special equipment is required to observe the celestial phenomenon, but binoculars or a telescope will improve the view, and visibility will be worse in areas with light pollution.

The western half of the US, including Hawaii, will get the best view, “where the moon will appear almost directly overhead in the middle of the eclipse,” according to Space.com. From the east coast, the moon will set until it “begins to emerge from the total eclipse.”

Space.com provides a diagram which details the stages of the eclipse and the associated timing on both the East and West coasts. Only owls and early risers will be able to see the eclipse, as it will end at 6:41 a.m. on the East Coast and 2:41 a.m. on the West Coast.

The Moon is also expected to have a reddish tint during an eclipse because the only light reaching the Moon will be filtered through Earth’s atmosphere. “The more dust or clouds in the Earth’s atmosphere during an eclipse, the redder the Moon will appear,” according to NASA. The nickname “Blood Moon” comes from this color change.

Assuming the voting schedule is not changed, this upcoming eclipse will be the only opportunity for Americans to see a total lunar eclipse on Election Day in their lifetime, or many generations for that matter. According to Rice, the next one is not expected until 2394.

The good news is that for those who don’t wake up early or have poor viewing conditions, several organizations are set to record the event and stream it online. NASA also has a Dial the month a tool that provides eclipse visualization.