When the Earth passes directly between the sun and moon early Wednesday morning, the moon – cast in the Earth’s shadow – will glow red. You won’t want to miss this lunar eclipse spectacle. Now let’s hope clouds don’t play spoiler.

Links: Rocking the red: A lunar eclipse bathes the moon in color Wednesday morning | Why does the moon turn red during a lunar eclipse?

Best time to watch: In the East, the prime time for the eclipse – when the moon turns a coppery red – starts at 6:25 a.m. ET and ends at moonset. Depending on your exact location (in the East), moon is set to fall beneath the western horizon between roughly 6:50 and 7:30 a.m. ET. In Washington, D.C. moonset is at 7:16 a.m. Wednesday morning; check TimeandDate.com for local moonset times.

If you’re inclined to wake up on the early side, partial eclipsing begins at 5:15 a.m. ET.

Areas in the central and western U.S. have a longer viewing window, thanks to later moonset times. Refer to the table below, from Sky and Telescope, for a viewing schedule by region:

Where to look: In the eastern U.S., sky watchers should look to the western sky, as the moon sets during the full eclipse period.

Double your pleasure: Spectacles on both horizons! In the eastern U.S., as the sun is rising (from the east) as the moon is setting (to the west), this presents a unique opportunity to observe a full lunar eclipse and sunrise at the same time. This rare coincidence is called a selenelion.

“Weather permitting, you could have a short window of roughly 2 to 9 minutes (depending on your location) with the possibility of simultaneously seeing the sun rising in the east while the eclipsed full moon is setting in the west,” writes Space.com.

In Washington, D.C., sunrise Wednesday morning occurs at 7:11 a.m. (check TimeandDate.com for local sunrise times) – meaning both the eclipse and sunrise may be visible between roughly 7:11 a.m. and 7:16 a.m.

Watch for Uranus: Writes Slates Bad Astronomer, Phil Plait: “Uranus will be very close to the Moon during the eclipse, so I expect we’ll see some pretty cool pictures of that conjunction. Uranus is tiny, but it’ll appear as a bluish-green star less than a degree east of the Moon. That’ll make a pretty sight in binoculars, too.”

Those darn clouds: A cold front zipping through the eastern U.S. should be exiting the Mid-Atlantic coast early morning, likely allowing for fine sky viewing from Maryland to Florida. However, the front and clouds probably linger in New England – compromising the view.



Forecast weather map at 8 a.m. Wednesday (National Weather Service)

The National Weather Service’s map of forecast cloud cover below suggests excellent viewing over the central and western U.S. Like New England, the Great Lakes and Southwest may be draped in cloud cover. (Note: on this map blue shades indicate clear skies, whereas gray shades indicate cloudy skies).



Forecast sky cover at 5 a.m. ET Wednesday (National Weather Service)

Watch online: In case of clouds, look online to Slooh.com, where the eclipse will be webcast live starting at 5 a.m. EDT, on Wednesday.

Share your photos! Please send us your photos of the eclipse and sunrise via Twitter, Facebook, and/or Flickr. We will feature a selection of our favorites in a blog post. Some advice from SkyandTelescope: