Total Lunar Eclipse Happens Friday Night

There's a good reason to check out the moon Friday night and that's the total lunar eclipse.

What is a total lunar eclipse you ask? Well it's the passing of the moon through the center of the Earth's shadow. And this is the first time a central lunar eclipse has happened since the summer of 2011.

Central lunar eclipses are pretty rare and are the darkest eclipses out there...so it should be worth watching.

But unfortunately, you'll have to watch it online.

NASA says the best places to catch the lunar eclipse are central Asia, the Middle East, eastern Africa and parts of South America.

And that North America is completely out-of-luck in seeing this one in the night sky.

But that doesn't mean you have to miss out.

Space nerds can still see the show by watching the "Space in Awesome" live stream on NBC News starting a 4 p.m.

Which has the added benefit of not having to stay up all night looking up, right?

The eclipse is supposed to last over 100 minutes, making it the longest eclipse of the 21st century.

Some good news? Mars will also be putting on a show Friday night.

The planet will be in retrograde and will be at opposition to the Sun. So you could still catch it's yellow-orange glow just below the moon this Friday night.

And some say Mars' movement means big changes in one's love life or career, so perhaps new things are coming your way next week after all this celestial activity.