Total lunar eclipse offers weekend treat for West Coast

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The heavens are providing a holiday treat this weekend, but you'll have to be quick to catch it.

Weather permitting, sky gazers along North America's West Coast can enjoy a total lunar eclipse in the pre-dawn hours Saturday.

Scientists expect totality — when the full moon is completely obscured by Earth's shadow — to last just several minutes, beginning at 4:58 a.m. PDT. Most of the eclipsed moon should appear reddish-orange.

The eclipse will be visible Saturday night from Australia and parts of Asia, and deep at night from Hawaii and New Zealand.

In the Midwest, the moon will be close to setting and the sun rising around totality. The eastern half of North America will miss out on the total phase.