In the continuing spirit of all things Halloween, there will be a total lunar eclipse tonight, weather permitting.

“The moon will pass through the Earth’s shadow – it looks like the moon is being eaten,” said David Leake, director of the William M. Staerkel Planetarium. “It (only) happens when the moon is full.”

The October full moon, called the Blood Moon or Hunter’s Moon in folklore, after hunters who used its light to hunt prey in the woods, may actually seem red due to dust particles and other elements in the atmosphere, according to a NASA Web site.

This is the last total lunar eclipse visible in North America until March of 2007, according to NASA.

The Champaign-Urbana Astronomical Society will meet outside the planetarium with telescopes at approximately 8:15 p.m. if the weather is clear, and all are welcome to join.

Unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses are completely safe to watch. Protective filters are not necessary and neither is a telescope. A lunar eclipse can be observed with nothing more than the naked eye. However, a pair of binoculars will magnify the view and make the red coloration brighter and easier to see. A standard pair of 7×35 or 7×50 binoculars works fine.

According to weather.com, Champaign-Urbana will be cloudy with a temperature of approximately 54 degrees Fahrenheit at 9 p.m. Wednesday night.