When will the total lunar eclipse be visible and what is the 'blood worm moon'?

The moon will appear in the sky with a red hue this week during the total lunar eclipse.

It marks the first total lunar eclipse in three years, and this is where the moon's surface is covered by the Earth's shadow.

For those eager to see it for themselves, it will be visible on Thursday night and Friday morning (depending on where you are).

The moon will have a reddish glow due to sunlight filtering through Earth’s atmosphere, bending towards the moon and enabling the longer, red wavelengths to reach it, with NASA describing it as "the glow of all of the sunrises and sunsets on Earth".

The "worm" part is thought to be in reference to the timing of the moon approaching spring, where the warmer weather causes earthworms to appear, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac.

An alternative meaning behind the name is from the 1700s, where Captain Jonathan Carver recorded how some Native American tribes used the 'worm moon' to refer to the emergence of beetle larvae from thawing tree bark.

How can I see it?

A Blood Moon rises above The Hohenzollern Castle, the ancestral seat of the Prussian Royal House and of the Hohenzollern Princes, situated at the periphery of the Swabian Alb on July 27, 2018 in Hechingen, GermanyPhoto by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images

If you're in the US, you will be able to see a total lunar eclipse - but you might need to be a night owl. On the East Coast, it will be visible at 2:26 am Friday morning (March 14), while West Coasters will start to see it from 11:26 pm on Thursday (March 13).

The total eclipse will occur for around 65 minutes, and before this, people can expect to see a partial eclipse an hour and 15 minutes prior.

For those based in the UK, while we won't get the chance to see a total lunar eclipse like our US counterparts, you can still get the chance to see a partial eclipse where over 90 per cent of the Moon's surface will be in darkness at its peak.

Again, those keen to see it will either have to stay up late or get up early as it will be visible at 3:57 am on March 14, and it is expected to peak at 6:19 am - with your best chance of a clear view being on the western horizon.

And one important factor is the weather, so hopefully it will be a clear night for those eagerly looking up at the sky.

Elsewhere, People flood Twitter with memes after clouds block the lunar eclipse, and astronomers are baffled by this strange floating mass in space.

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