ICYMI: No, you will not see a planetary alignment on February 28th
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When are planets visible in the sky? View my 5-year graphic.
March 3rd’s lunar eclipse viewing times for your time zone can be found at the bottom of this post.
My time in St. Pete is at an end, and on Saturday February 28th, I head back to the western United States to kick off my 2026 adventure. What better way to begin my second year of vanlife than by driving 2,000 miles in 48 hours to witness March 3rd’s Total Lunar Eclipse from near White Sands National Park in New Mexico?
Fun fact: one of my pictures from White Sands is the cover foreground on my science-fiction book Resonance.
Following a private telescope event I have along the Gulf Coast on the evening of February 28th (barring clouds, of course; not looking great as of writing this), I will immediately drive a few hours north to I-10 to set myself up for the long haul back across the country, a journey which I last made in December 2025 when I drove the nearly 4,000 miles from San Diego to central Pennsylvania for the holidays–and taking my total 2025 mileage up to 36,000.
Heck.
As of writing this post on Wednesday afternoon, I’m up to 2,872 miles in 2026. By the time I arrive to Alamogordo, New Mexico (just outside White Sands), I should have just over 4,700 miles logged for the year.
I’m heading west for the lunar eclipse not because Florida won’t see it, but because the further west you go, the more of the eclipse you will see. In Florida, the lunar eclipse will be happening right near sunrise, so the show will be drowned out by the sunlight combined with the Moon dropping into the thicker lower atmosphere and then setting altogether.
In New Mexico, the eclipse will be much higher in the sky, starting at 55 degrees altitude and lowering to just 3 degrees before dropping behind the San Andreas Mountains. I’ll miss the final hour of the penumbral eclipse after the Moon has turned red and the black shadow has fully crossed over, but that’s fine with me; it’s not a “wow factor” like the Total and Umbral phases.
For reference of the shadow phases I will see in New Mexico, look at the below image: this is my series of eclipse pictures from March 14, 2025 from 1am – 4:30am at North Shore Park in St. Pete. I will see all of this as well as the exact opposite after it turns red (all the exciting bits).
For the New Mexico shots, I’m going to try some new techniques for capturing the lunar eclipse that I never have before, especially equipped with my DSLR, and already knowing the exact place I’ll be set up at, which can make for some cool foregrounds depending on what I choose.
Side note: I won’t be on the dunes of White Sands. Trust me, I wish. But the gate will be closed well before I get into town and it’s not a 24-hour national park. Instead, I’m heading to a campground I was at in October. While it won’t be as rich as the rolling dunes would be, I have an idea I’m playing with: I want to try a timelapse of the Moon setting over the mountains; whether with the DSLR or my phone, I’ve yet to decide. I’m also thinking of some light painting or silhouette ideas with my van and the telescope to deliver a scene with human familiarity blended in.
Here’s the exact spot I plan to capture most of the images. At the very least, this is where my telescope and van will be, whether I’m directly next to them or not:
If you recall, I was here in October during a series of stargazing events I hosted for a bus tour, which is why I want to go back and create another experience, whether just me or with others staying over that night.
As I set forth on the 2026 adventure, I hope you’ll continue following along to explore these places with me. Together we’ll explore the deserts of the southwest, the forests of the PNW, mountaintops and canyon floors…and of course, the cosmos from telescopes on a sidewalk.
General Lunar Eclipse Viewing Times
Penumbral shadow begins
3:45am Eastern | 1:45am Mountain | 12:45am Pacific
Umbral shadow begins
4:50am EST | 2:50am MST | 1:50am PST
Red Moon begins
6:04am EST | 4:04am MST | 3:04am PST
Red Moon max
NOT VISIBLE Eastern | 4:33am Mountain | 3:44am Pacific
Red Moon ends
NOT VISIBLE Eastern | 5:03am Mountain | 4:03am Pacific
Umbral ends
NOT VISIBLE Eastern | 6:18am Mountain | 5:18am Pacific
Penumbral ends
NOT VISIBLE Eastern | NOT VISIBLE Mountain | 6:23am Pacific
From New Mexico, I head back to Arizona, where I’ll be spending 2-3 weeks in Sedona before heading back to San Diego for 3 weeks, then up to San Francisco for a pre-scheduled private event. After than, I’m looking into options for where to spend the April Moon phases from April 19th – May 2nd before taking my first excursion into the wilderness for the year…
Stay tuned–or go off grid.
This world is beautiful.
Alex
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