A deep partial lunar eclipse is set to sweep across southeast Louisiana Thursday night into early Friday morning, and the region is positioned to see the entire event from start to finish, weather permitting.

While technically a partial lunar eclipse, it won't be far off from a full one. Roughly 96 percent of the Moon's disk will be inside Earth's dark umbral shadow at maximum, meaning it should look very close to a total lunar eclipse.

The partial eclipse officially begins at 9:33 p.m., with the shadow becoming very obvious around 10 p.m. Maximum eclipse hits at 11:12 p.m., with the Moon sitting about 41 degrees above the southeastern horizon, a comfortable viewing angle that doesn't require a flat or open horizon.

At maximum, the large eclipsed portion should appear dark copper, rusty orange, or reddish, while a thin sliver remains much brighter. NASA notes that once enough of the bright lunar surface disappears, eyes can dark-adapt enough to see the reddish color much more clearly.

The red color comes from sunlight filtering through Earth's atmosphere before being refracted into the shadow, essentially the combined light of Earth's sunrises and sunsets illuminating the Moon.

The biggest uncertainty heading into Thursday night is the weather. After some early morning storms, clouds are expected to hang around for most of the day, possibly even into the overnight hours. Still, some breaks in the clouds are possible, meaning viewing this event is not completely off the table.

No eclipse glasses are needed. A lunar eclipse is completely safe to view with the naked eye, binoculars or a telescope. Light pollution is not a concern since the Moon itself is the target.

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