On September 27, visitors have been invited to view a total lunar eclipse from Homestead National Monument of America beginning at 8 pm, at the Heritage Center parking lot. The Prairie Astronomy Club from Lincoln is going to be there with two telescopes to provide close-ups of the moon and stars. Viewers are allowed to bring their own chairs and binoculars. They should be dressed warmly.

The eclipse is going to start at 8:07 pm and the total eclipse will occur at 9:47 pm, ending by 11:27 pm. The occurrence of total lunar eclipses takes place when the Sun, Earth and Moon form a straight line. It is technically termed as syzygy, which has come from the Greek word for being paired together.

The direct sunlight is blocked from reaching the Moon by the Earth as the Sun is behind the Earth, as a result of which the Sun's light casts the Earth's shadow on the Moon. This shadow covers the whole Moon, causing a total lunar eclipse.

The Earth's atmosphere blocks parts of the sunlight's color spectrum and leaves just the longer wavelengths visible, the red ones. The amount of dust particles, water droplets, clouds and mist present in the atmosphere can have an impact on the shade of red, orange or even gold, leading to a blood moon.