BEIJING, Aug. 27 (Xinhuanet) -- The total lunar eclipse, the second this year, will be visible in North and South America, media reported Monday.

The Earth's shadow will creep across the moon's surface early Tuesday, slowly eclipsing it and turning it to shades of orange and red.

Since the Earth is bigger than the moon, the process of the Earth's shadow taking a bigger and bigger "bite" out of the moon, totally eclipsing it before the shadow recedes, lasting about 3 1/2 hours, said Doug Duncan, director of the University of Colorado's Fiske Planetarium in U.S.. The total eclipse phase, in which the moon has an orange or reddish glow, will last about 1 1/2 hours.

"When someone asks why is it (the moon) red, you can say because the sky is blue," Duncan said.

People in the Pacific islands, eastern Asia, Australia and New Zealand also will be able to view it if skies are clear.

The next total lunar eclipse occurs Feb. 21, 2008, and will be visible from the Americas, Europe and Asia.

(Agencies)