KANSAS CITY, Mo. — You'll see a once-in-a-lifetime cosmic phenomenon if you look to the skies Thursday night.
A near-total lunar eclipse will take place and cause the moon to look blood red from the Earth's shadow.
According to the National Weather Service, it will be the longest lunar eclipse in 580 years.
The eclipse will last almost three-and-a-half hours.
Those in the Midwest can expect to see the shadow eclipse begin around 12:02 a.m. and then the partial eclipse begins around 1:19 a.m. The partial eclipse will end around 4:47 a.m. and the eclipse will end completely around 6:04 a.m.
The peak viewing point will be 3:03 a.m. when the eclipse is almost total.
At that point, 95% of the moon will be red in Earth's shadow. A tiny sliver of the moon will still be illuminated.
Viewing should be great in the Kansas City area with mostly clear skies and only some thin, high clouds.
Meteorologist Wes Peery said more clouds will start to move in after 3 a.m. That means after the peak of the eclipse, viewing could become more distorted.
Look to the western horizon to catch a glimpse.
