Tuesday 3 March 2026 at 12.04pm Italian time there will be an astronomical show not to be missed: antotal lunar eclipsealso nicknamed “Blood Moon” due to the reddish color assumed by our natural satellite during the totality phase of the eclipse. It is about thelast total eclipse of Moon for the next two years; for the next in fact we will have to wait until December 31, 2028 and its “New Year’s Blood Moon.” The eclipse will take place at the time of the full Moon nicknamed “Worm Moon” will have its own totality phase starting at 12:04 on Tuesday 3 March, however it will be visible only from Asia, Australia and North America. For us inhabitants of Europe theunique opportunity to observe the phenomenon is through live onlinelike the one transmitted by the project The Virtual Telescope.
When to see the lunar eclipse on March 3 with live streaming: times and duration
THE’total lunar eclipse on March 3 will have start when in Italy it will be 9:44. At that time, the Moon will begin to enter the Earth’s penumbrawhich will manifest itself as one progressive reduction in the brightness of the lunar disk starting from its left limb when observed from the northern hemisphere. There partial eclipse phase it will start about an hour later, at 10.50am Italian time. At that moment, the Moon will enter theEarth’s shadow and the lunar disk yes it will progressively darken until 12:04when the total eclipse will begin. During the total phase, the Moon will take on a characteristic color reddish colourhence the name “Blood Moon”due to the refraction of sunlight through the Earth’s atmosphere which reflects on the Moon. The maximum of totality will be reached at 12.33pmcoinciding with the 100% Full Moon phase. About half an hour later, the Moon will begin to emerge first from the Earth’s shadow cone, and then at 2.17pm also from its penumbra. THE’event will end when in Italy it will be 3.23pmas the portal video shows TimeAndDate below showing the various phases of illumination of the Moon depending on the position on Earth. To be able to observe one new total eclipse of Luna we will have to wait until 2028precisely the December 31, 2028.
Since the eclipse will take place in broad daylight here in Italy, the only way to observe the astronomical spectacle is to watch one of the numerous online live broadcasts broadcast from the places where the totality phase will take place. For example, the Italian project Virtual Telescope offers a live coverage of the phenomenon starting from 9:30 (Italian time) which you can watch on YouTube at the link below.
What is a total full moon eclipse and why does it turn red
A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Sun, Earth and Moon find each other perfectly aligned and our planet comes between the other two, casting its shadow on the lunar surface. In this configuration the Moon passes through the darkest part of the Earth’s shadow, called Umbrianand instead of disappearing it slowly becomes reddish. This characteristic color, which earns it the nickname “Blood Moon”, is due to sunlight That crossing the Earth’s atmosphere disperses its blue components and it refracts the red ones which are thus diverted and are able to reach the Moon even when it is completely immersed in the Earth’s shadow. Unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses are visible from the entire nocturnal half of the Earth and can be observed with the naked eye without any protection.
