Lunacy!

LONDON, England (AP) -- The moon will turn shades of amber and crimson Saturday night as it passes behind the Earth's shadow in the first total lunar eclipse in three years.

Lunar eclipses occur when Earth passes between the sun and the moon, blocking the sun's light. The event is rare because the moon spends most of its time either above or below the plane of Earth's orbit.

Although it will pass completely under Earth's shadow, light from the sun will still reach the moon after being refracted through Earth's atmosphere, giving the moon an eerie dark reddish tinge.

Earth's shadow will begin moving across the moon at 3:18 p.m. ET Saturday, with the total eclipse occurring at 5:44 p.m. ET and lasting more than an hour.