Bermuda will offer a prime location tonight to bear witness to an uncommon spectacle in the heavens — weather permitting.

However, stargazers will have to set their alarm clocks to see the spectacle — the “full” eclipse will last only one hour, starting at 3.26am.

During that time, the Moon will take on a red hue as the Earth moves between it and the Sun, with the outer portion of our planet’s shadow, known as the penumbra, blocking any direct sunlight from making it through.

Even with sunlight prevented from shining directly on to the lunar surface, the Moon remains visible to the naked eye during a total lunar eclipse.

This is because the Earth's atmosphere bends sunlight and indirectly illuminates our celestial neighbour.

When sunlight passes through the Earth's atmosphere, it gets refracted towards the surface of the planet, and part of it — the colours with shorter wavelengths — get scattered and filtered out.

Colours with longer wavelengths, such as orange and red, are able to pass through the atmosphere — the same phenomenon that imbues sunsets with their orange display.

For an eclipse, this light gets refracted towards the surface of the fully eclipsed Moon, bathing it in a reddish-orange glow. Because of this, a total lunar eclipse is sometimes called a “Blood Moon”.

A second total lunar eclipse will take place in September and there will be only one in 2026.

According to the Bermuda Weather Service, a forecast of “variable” cloud cover has the potential to spoil the display.

Bermudians who try their luck for the eclipse will have company all across the Americas, which will enjoy the best views.

In Britain, observers will be able to catch the partial eclipse by looking west at moonset tomorrow morning.