One of the easier astronomical events to observe is a lunar eclipse. If you have a view of the Moon, you can view the spectacle. No special equipment is needed to watch Earth’s shadow dim the Moon. Pittsburgh’s hills made it challenging to view the lunar eclipse this morning. The Moon was barely above the horizon when the eclipse began and set partway through the event. The partial eclipse was visible between 4:50 a.m. and 8:17 a.m.

Lunar eclipses occur when the Moon is full and the Sun, Earth and Moon are in an exact line-up. There is a geometrical coincidence that the Sun’s diameter is nearly 400 times that of the Moon. The Sun is also about 400 times further away than the Earth. This makes a perfect mathematical fit of Earth’s shadow concealing the Moon during a lunar eclipse, and the Moon perfectly covering the Sun in a solar eclipse. Because Earth’s shadow is larger than the Moon’s, we have more opportunities to see a lunar eclipse than a solar eclipse. Although due to a moon’s orbit being tilted about 5 degrees, we don’t see an eclipse every month.

March’s full moon is nicknamed, the Worm Moon. For ages, humans charted signs of spring such as wriggling worms enticing robins to feast and together witnessed the once mysterious red hues of lunar eclipses.