If you’re into totally cool space-y type of things, listen up: The longest total lunar eclipse in the entire century is set to happen pretty soon—like tonight soon—and if you live in certain areas in Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, South America and the Middle East, you’ll be able to get an awesome view. (Yes, unfortunately the United States isn’t on the list, but it’s still pretty cool to hear about.)

The eclipse will occur tonight, July 27 into tomorrow the 28^th, and is supposed to last a total of a whopping four hours, with the totality of it (which is when the earth’s shadow covers the moon and creates complete darkness) lasting about one hour and 43 minutes.

Just for retrospect, the shortest total lunar eclipse of this century lasted 4 minutes and 48 seconds, so this is a pretty big deal. This will be the first central lunar eclipse since June 15, 2011, and the second total lunar eclipse in 2018 (the last one being January 31, 2018).

The time of greatest eclipse will be 4:21 p.m. EDT (2021 GMT) on July 27, according to EarthSky.org. The total eclipse will last from 3:30 p.m. to 5:13 p.m. EDT (1930 to 2113 GMT), not including the little a bit of time before and after when the moon is in the lighter part of Earth’s shadow, otherwise known as the penumbra.

What even is a lunar eclipse?

A lunar eclipse is when the moon passes directly behind earth, which causes the earth to cast a shadow over the moon. Because of this, the moon appears to be a reddish hue as it filters through Earth’s atmosphere and onto the moon’s surface—and it’s truly fascinating to see, whether or not you’re into that kind of thing.

The reason that this one is set to last such a long time is because the moon will be at its furthest point from earth during the eclipse, causing the moon to move slower than it would if it was closer to the Earth.

And there’s even more cool news. Tonight is also the same night we’re getting a “Mars opposition,” a period of time when the Earth and Mars (neighboring planets) will go from being “at conjunction” (where they’re farther from each other) to being “at opposition” (where they’re closer to each other). Essentially, Earth passes between the sun and Mars, placing Mars at opposition in our sky.This happens every two years, and it just happens to fall on the same day as the longest lunar eclipse in the entire century. Mars will be pretty close to the moon during the time of the eclipse, so that should be pretty neat to see everything happen at once.

Worried about your eyes? Don’t be. Lunar eclipses are completely safe to look at with the blind eye or binoculars, unlike solar eclipses, where you need special eyewear.

Prime yourself with all the information you’ll ever need to know about the total lunar eclipse tonight by checking out this informative video below!

Are you viewing the total lunar eclipse tonight? Share what you thought of it, if you are!