LOS ANGELES — The year’s first total eclipse of the moon will last an unusually long time, a rare treat for a wide swath of the globe.
Except if you’re in the United States and Canada. North America will be left out of the lunar spectacle Wednesday, which will be visible from start to finish in eastern Africa, central Asia, the Middle East and western Australia — weather permitting.
The period when Earth’s shadow completely blocks the moon — known as totality — will last 1 hour and 40 minutes. The last time the moon was covered for this long was in July 2000, when it lasted 7 minutes longer than that.
The full moon normally glows from reflected sunlight. A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon glides through the long shadow cast by the Earth and is blocked from the sunlight that illuminates it.
The continental U.S. will have to wait until April 15, 2014, to witness a total lunar eclipse.
