On March 2 into early March 3, 2026, the Moon will pass completely into Earth’s darkest shadow during a total lunar eclipse, creating what is often called a “blood moon.”

The red color appears during totality, the phase when the Moon is fully inside Earth’s umbra. Instead of going dark, the Moon glows copper or deep red because sunlight is bending through Earth’s atmosphere. Shorter blue wavelengths scatter in all directions, while longer red wavelengths continue through and spill into Earth’s shadow, lighting the Moon from within.

In effect, every sunrise and sunset happening around the rim of Earth at that moment is being projected onto the lunar surface.

The red phase will last about 58 minutes. Western North America will see the entire total eclipse in dark skies. On the U.S. East Coast, viewers will see the beginning of totality just before dawn, with the Moon setting low in the western sky shortly after the red glow begins.

The March full Moon is also traditionally known as the Worm Moon, a name recorded in early Native American–derived seasonal calendars and later popularized in colonial almanacs, referring to the return of earthworms as winter loosens its grip.

No special glasses are required to watch a lunar eclipse safely.