Those staying up late the night of Purim will be able to witness a rare event, as the full moon will appear to turn crimson red during a total lunar eclipse.
A lunar eclipse occurs when Earth is between the sun and moon and the three celestial objects line up in a nearly perfect row, with Earth in the middle, so that the moon passes into our planet’s shadow.
When the moon is within the darkest part of Earth’s shadow it takes on a dramatic reddish hue, which has led to the nickname “blood moon” for a lunar eclipse, according to NASA.
Viewers do not need special equipment to observe a lunar eclipse — and eclipse glasses are not either needed because looking at the full moon is not damaging to the eye.
However, the weather may play a factor for those wishing to view the event. The overnight weather forecast in New Jersey calls for moderate cloud cover across most of the state, with a chance of patchy drizzle.
For Lakewood, it is expected to be mostly cloudy during the hours of the eclipse, with around a 60% cloud cover.
The “blood moon” will be visible for about an hour starting at 2:26am on Friday morning, with peak viewing will be right before 3am.
I think that it’s a sign that Purim is here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!