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Perfect conditions Thursday night to see lunar eclipse in Minnesota

Perfect conditions Thursday night to see the lunar eclipse in Minnesota

The full moon is seen during totality of a lunar eclipse
The full moon is seen with a orange-red hue during totality of a lunar eclipse in the sky above downtown St. Paul on Jan. 20, 2019. A nearly total lunar eclipse should be visible Thursday night.
Andrew Krueger | MPR News

Minnesotans have a great chance Thursday night to witness a nearly total lunar eclipse. You shouldn’t need any special equipment to see it. Just look toward the moon. This is the last close-to-full lunar eclipse viewable here until late June 2029.

At 11:12 p.m., the eclipse will get to near totality across much of Minnesota as the moon passes into Earth’s shadow. If you’re out 30 minutes before or after that, this should still look really cool! The weather is comfortable and the bugs aren’t so bad this season in Minnesota.

clear skies
At 11:12 p.m. Thursday, we'll get to almost totality for the blood moon. Except for a few spotty high clouds, it will be perfect viewing weather. More than 95 percent of the lunar surface will be masked.
National Weather Service

While it’s described as a “blood moon” because of a reddish hue, it can look more like a giant copper penny.

When’s the next total solar eclipse?

The next question for me while writing this was: When’s the next total solar eclipse over Minnesota?

There is a total solar eclipse next summer largely over the Middle East and Mediterranean. Another one crossed the Deep South in 2045.

Minnesotans will need to set our alarms to September of 2099.

This data is all according to NASA’s team of astronomers along with some supplementary information from timeanddate.com

Next total eclipse
Just give it a little bit, 73 years to be exact, for the next total solar eclipse over Minnesota. For many, Thursday night's partial lunar eclipse is the best thing, locally.
NASA