Although lunar eclipses and blood moons happen annually, it's rare to have one considered to be the shortest of the century.
"The most spectacular part of the eclipse will be the totality phase, when Earth's shadow completely covers the moon and turns it an eerie red. The moon will only skirt the deepest and darkest part of Earth's shadow, or umbra, and totality could last anywhere from nine to 12 minutes," National Geographic explained.
The site went on to say that this weekend's blood moon eclipse will be the third of four - a phenomenon called a tetrad - in the last two years.
"The pattern won't repeat for another 20 years or so. The first and second happened in April and September 2014, and the last of the tetrad will grace our skies on September 28, 2015," the scientific institution pointed out.
Meanwhile, USA Today said that the said eclipse will take place in just 5 minutes.
"Skywatchers in the western third of the U.S. will get to see a total eclipse, while folks in the central and eastern U.S. will only see a partial eclipse before the moon sets," the news source said. "You'll have to look low in the western sky to see the eclipse."
The eclipse is best seen from Hawaii, western Alaska, Japan, northeastern Russia, and eastern Australia. In the West, it will reportedly start at 4:58 a.m. Pacific Time.
"Starting at 3:16 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time, the moon will begin moving into Earth's shadow. For the next hour and 45 minutes, that shadow will move across the moon and engulf it at 4:58 a.m. Pacific Time," CNN said. "Parts of South America, India, China and Russia also will be able to see the eclipse, but it won't be visible in Greenland, Iceland, Europe, Africa or the Middle East."
A lunar eclipse is caused by the Earth moving in between the moon and the sun, with the planet creating a shadow on the moon as it moves further in line with the Earth. The moon may also take on a reddish color due to the Earth's atmosphere canceling out much of the blue light streaming from the sun.
If you're unable to view the lunar eclipse where you are, you can catch a live broadcast of the event via Slooh at 3 a.m. PT or 6 a.m. ET on April 4. You can also watch replays of the event on the same site.
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