A large section of the Swiss population should have a clear view of the total lunar eclipse on Wednesday evening with little cloud cover forecast over low-lying areas.

The alignment of the earth, sun and moon will begin at 9.20pm local time and the earth’s shadow will be visible crossing the moon. The middle point of the eclipse will be reached at 10.15pm.

The natural phenomenon can be viewed safely with the naked eye, cloud permitting. Skygazers in the mountains or the south of the country are more likely have their view impaired by cloud, meteorologists say.

A good view tonight might make up for the disappointing conditions during the partial solar eclipse over Switzerland on January 4 when the sun was hidden by cloud almost everywhere.  

Unlike a solar eclipse, which can only be viewed from a relatively small area of the world, a lunar eclipse may be viewed from anywhere on the night side of the earth. Wednesday’s eclipse will be visible in Europe and South America after sunset and in Africa, Asia and Australia before sunrise.

For those who miss the event, the next total lunar eclipse visible from Switzerland will happen on September 28, 2015.

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative