GEOMAGNETIC STORMS ARE LIKELY TODAY: Minor G1-class geomagnetic storms are likely on March 13th as Earth passes through a magnetized stream of solar wind. High-latitude observers should be alert for auroras during the total lunar eclipse. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.
TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE MOON--TONIGHT! The full Worm Moon is about to pass through Earth's shadow, producing a total lunar eclipse visible from North and South America. This time-tagged animation shows how the Moon will turn red during the 90-minute event:
In the Pacific time zone, the eclipse straddles the midnight divide between March 13th and 14th. Further east, it happens entirely during the early hours of March 14th. For a local movie, pick your own time zone: UTC, EDT, CDT, MDT, PDT.
What makes the eclipsed Moon turn red? A trip to the Moon provides the answer. Imagine yourself standing on the lunar surface looking up at the sky. Overhead hangs Earth, hiding the sun behind it. The eclipse is underway.
You might expect Earth to be utterly dark, but it's not. The rim of the planet looks like it is on fire. As you scan your eye around Earth's circumference, you see every sunrise and every sunset in the world--all at once. This incredible light beams into the heart of Earth's shadow, painting the Moon sunset red.
Red isn't the only color. There's also turquoise, shown here in a photo taken by Jens Hackman during an eclipse in March of 2007:
Its source is ozone. During a lunar eclipse, some of the light illuminating the Moon passes through Earth's ozone layer. Ozone absorbs red light and actually makes the passing light ray bluer. This can be seen as a soft blue fringe around the red core of Earth's shadow.
To catch the turquoise on March 13-14, look during the first and last minutes of totality. The turquoise rim is best seen in binoculars or a small telescope.
Realtime Lunar Eclipse Photo Gallery
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"METEOR CRATER" CRYSTAL PENDANT: Have you heard of Moissanite? It's a very rare mineral discovered in Arizona's Meteor Crater by 19th-century chemist Henri Moissan. At first, he thought it was diamond, but later realized it was even more rare. It came from meteorites! On March 4, 2025, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched a Moissanite pendant to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon:
You can have it for $299.95. Almost indistinguishable from natural diamond, the 3-carat crystal is held by a sterling silver frame with the words "I Love You" engraved on the back. It's a truly out of this world gift.
The students are selling space jewelry to pay the helium bill for their high altitude ballooning program. Each pendant comes with a greeting card showing the item in flight and telling the story of its journey to the stratosphere and back again.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
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Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
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