A full moon will creep into the shadow of the earth tomorrow evening, causing a total lunar eclipse.

At approximately 5:30 p.m. the moon will rise across the eastern horizon, and viewers will be able to watch it turn from its usual yellow color to a copper red.

The moon doesn't project any light of its own, instead it reflects light from the sun, causing the moon to appear to have color.

But tomorrow, the earth's shadow, which stretches across almost a million miles, will block most of the sunlight from reaching the moon.

Although the eclipse can be seen by the naked eye, the Flandrau Science Center and the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association will be armed with several telescopes and powerful binoculars for better viewing, and everyone is welcome to observe this phenomenon atop the Park Avenue Garage free of cost.

"It will be great to watch from the garage because the eclipse is so low along the horizon, and on top of the garage there will be no obstructions," said Michael Terenzoni, the astronomy coordinator who organized the event.

Total lunar eclipses, like the one in May, usually leave the moon completely dark, but this time the moon will retain some light, said Michael Magee, the planetarium director of Flandrau Science Center.

The earth's shadow stretches across almost a million miles, according to the Space Weather Web site.

"Unless something passes through, most people don't know that earth has a shadow," Magee said. Earth's shadow is shaped like two cones inside of one another and is much bigger than the size of the moon.

During this lunar eclipse, the moon will pass through the outer edge of the shadow, which will allow for some light particles to reach it, unlike in May, when the moon passed in the middle of the shadow, causing a more dramatic darkness.

As the light travels through earth's dusty atmosphere, it will cause the moon to reflect red particles, a phenomenon that also happens at sunset. The moon will only be in a total eclipse for 25 minutes, much shorter than many other lunar eclipses, since it is only passing on the edge.

Sky-gazers will see the moon go through various phases during the eclipse.

First, the moon will appear dim and a small piece of the moon will appear completely dark as it makes its way into the shadow.

"It will look like someone took a bite out of the moon, but it is just the earth's shadow," said Tom Fleming, an associate astronomer.

Then, as the moon becomes completely engulfed in the shadow, it will take on a copper color and cause the sky to darken.

Minutes later the process will reverse and the moon will slowly light back up.