A total eclipse of the moon will take place tonight (Wednesday 20th Feb), or tomorrow morning if you’re reading this in Europe, Africa or western Asia. Find out if you can see it using NASA’s handy Javascript Lunar Eclipse Explorer or check the map.

“You don’t have to stay up until dawn or anything obnoxious like that,” David Morrison, of the Lunar Science Institute at the NASA/Ames Research Center, says in The Mercury News’s coverage.

Starting at 8:43 pm Eastern time a shadow will begin to creep across the face of the Moon as its eastern edge moves into the Earth’s shadow. Total eclipse begins at 10:01pm and lasts just under 50 minutes (NASA Lunar Eclipse page).

USA Today has a comprehensive viewer’s guide. Sky and Telescope also has a nice outline of what you can expect to see.

Image: lunar eclipse seen from Apollo 15 / NASA