This coming Thursday evening, March 13, in the Red Hills a full Moon will rise at 7:24 p.m. Because of optical illusion, the Moon appears larger when near the horizon. Although at moonrise it will appear large, on that night the Moon is slightly farther than average from Earth. The March full Moon is sometimes called the Worm Moon. The reasons for this name are many and anecdotal, and the name is of little significance. According to CBS, it may be called the Eagle Moon, Goose Moon, Crow Comes Back Moon, Sugar Moon, Strong Wind Moon, and Sore Eyes Moon. OK, you get the point.

Keep watching the Moon as the night progresses. The Earth is rotating eastward. Because of this rotation, we are traveling eastward at 887 miles per hour. For the moment, just forget the Earth is orbiting the Sun, the Sun is flying though the Milky Way, and the Milky Way is zipping around. Fasten your seat belt and hold on to your hat. One of my grandsons asked why we don’t feel this, but that is the subject of another column. As we rotate eastward, the Moon appears to travel westward in the sky, rising higher and higher.

But here comes the fun part. As the Moon orbits the Earth slowly eastward, it is heading for the Earth’s shadow of the Sun. The Moon enters the edge of that shadow at 11:57 p.m. Thursday night. At this time, most of the Sun is still illuminates the Moon, and you won’t notice much difference in the Moon’s appearance. By 1:07 a.m. Friday morning, the Moon has risen to its highest point due south and you’ll notice the Moon has begun to dim. By 2:26 a.m. totality begins and the dimming becomes obvious. The Moon dims from the left edge as darkness drifts from left to right across the Moon. The maximum eclipse occurs at 2:57 a.m. in Thomasville and 2:58 a.m. in Cairo.

The Moon is now completely in the Earth’s shadow as the Earth’s surface completely blocks the Sun. However, the Moon doesn’t go completely dark. Instead, the Moon becomes a deep, dim, red. Let’s view this event as astronauts standing on the Moon. We watch as the Earth begins to block the Sun. At maximum eclipse, the Sun is completely covered. However, the Earth has an atmosphere that scatters sunlight but passes the redder colors. The Earth is engulfed in a ring of red light. From the North Pole southward, through Europe and Africa to the South Pole, it is a red sunset. From the South Pole northward, through the Indian Ocean and Asia, it’s a red sunrise. That earthly ring of fire is bathing the astronauts in red light. We’ll have a Blood Worm Moon, or a Blood Sore Eyes Moon, or…

At 3:31 a.m. totality ends and the Moon begins to brighten. By 6:00 a.m. the eclipse is over. Moonset occurs at 7:32 a.m. There won’t be another total lunar eclipse for us until June 2029, so let’s hope the weather cooperates.