What Time Should Texans Get Up Wednesday Morning To See the Super Blue Blood Moon?

Forget the solar eclipse and get ready for the biggest, most beautiful and elegant moon of the last 156 years, one that’s only appropriate for the night after President Donald Trump’s first State of the Union Address.

Early tomorrow morning, the Texas sky will play host to three phenomena that haven’t coincided over North America in more than 150 years. On Tuesday night, January’s second full moon will make an appearance. A second full moon in a calendar month is called a blue moon. Because the moon is at or near its closest point to Earth in its orbit, the moon is a supermoon as well. Add in a total lunar eclipse, which will give the blue super moon a red hue, and you’ve got a blood moon, too.

While the West Coast, Alaska and Hawaii are expected to have the best views of the eclipse, Dallas will be able to see the eclipse better than those in the Eastern time zone. The earlier the moon sets in the day, the worse a region’s view of the eclipse.  

Getting the full of effect of this rare occurrence won’t come without sacrifice. According to NASA, the lighter part of the Earth’s shadow, its penumbra, will touch the moon at about 4:50 a.m. Wednesday. About an hour later, the partial eclipse will begin in the Central time zone, and the full eclipse begins just before 7 a.m.

“So if you live in Kansas City or Chicago [or Dallas], your best viewing will be from about 6:15-6:30 a.m,” Gordon Johnston, program executive and lunar blogger at NASA Headquarters in Washington, said of viewing the eclipse from the center of the country. “Again, you’ll have more success if you can go to a high place with a clear view to the West.”