Tonight, millions of people across large parts of North and South America will be able to witness a near total lunar eclipse, one of nature's most spectacular phenomena.
Lunar eclipses occur when Earth moves between the sun and the moon, casting its shadow on the lunar surface. In Thursday night's event, 96% of the moon will be darkened by Earth's shadow at its peak.
This eclipse is known as a "blood moon" because Earth's shadow appears reddish due to the scattering of sunlight by Earth's atmosphere. It will mainly be visible in the Americas, but also in parts of Europe and Africa. It will begin around 9:23 p.m. EST, peaking at 10:33 p.m. EST.
Earlier this month, millions across Europe witnessed a more dramatic solar eclipse, when the moon blocked out the sun, plunging parts of the continent into daytime darkness.