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The moon came very close to a total eclipse overnight, with about 96% of it passing through
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the darkest part of the Earth's shadow. Skywatchers across the Americas, Africa and parts of Europe
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got a look at the deep partial eclipse, and as it neared its peak, almost the entire moon
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turned a deep red. That color comes from sunlight passing through the Earth's atmosphere before
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reaching the moon. The atmosphere filters out more of the blue light while letting the red light
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through, much like what happens during a sunrise or a sunset. The eclipse peaked just after midnight
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eastern time, just after 9 p.m. Thursday on the west coast. And if you missed this one
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you were sleeping like I was, you'll have to wait a while before something even better
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Space.com says the next lunar eclipse to top this one will be a total eclipse on New Year's
