CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) - A total lunar eclipse lit up the sky early Friday morning across western Massachusetts. Drought conditions improve in western Mass. Lunar eclipses occur when the sun, the Earth and the moon are in a straight line with the Earth positioned in the middle, casting its shadow on the moon. It is also called the blood moon because it makes the moon look red.  The reason this happens is because the Earth will align perfectly with the sun to cast its shadow on the moon. This shadow is called the umbra. When the moon is within the umbra, it appears red and orange. South DeerfieldCredit: Emily Gauvin of AtholSouth Deerfield Did you capture the moon on camera? Email us photos to reportit@wwlp.com. The partial eclipse began at 1:09 a.m. on Friday morning, with the total eclipse at 2:26 a.m. Friday morning. Totality lasted until 3:31 a.m. before the partial lunar eclipse ended at 4:47 a.m.  The next total lunar eclipse will be September 7, 2025. Local News Headlines Massachusetts man killed in crash with dump truck in New Hampshire Kevin Hart to perform in Springfield Friday night PHOTOS: Total lunar eclipse, blood moon seen across western Massachusetts Multiple crews put out large barn fire in Granville WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com. ...read more read less