If skies are clear, the Griffith Observatory will webcast the total lunar eclipse on Saturday, April 4 from 2 to 6:30 a.m. at http://new.livestream.com/GriffithObservatoryTV. However, there will not be a public viewing event at the observatory. The observatory, its grounds, and the rest of Griffith Park will be closed. Those accessing Griffith Park between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. will be cited. Unless it is cloudy, the lunar eclipse will be visible throughout Los Angeles and the surrounding region; people need only go outside and look up to view it. Beginning at 2 a.m. people logging into the webcast will be able to see live footage of the eclipse. Live webcast streaming will end at 6:30 a.m.

A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes into the shadow cast by the Earth. The round disk of the full Moon slowly moves into the dark shadow, and the bright Moon grows dim. The Moon, however, does not become completely dark. Instead, it glows with a faint copper or red color, a result of sunlight being filtered and bent through the Earth’s atmosphere (as it is, for example, at sunset).