Look up – another eclipse is coming to skies across North America, but this time no special glasses are required to view it.
A total lunar eclipse – also known as a “Blood Moon” – will cast a red hue over Canada late Thursday night and into the early Friday morning hours, for the first time since 2022. The phenomenon occurs when the Earth is between the moon and the sun and the moon passes through the shadow cast by the Earth, according to the Canadian Space Agency. It’s called a blood moon because of its reddish, orange colour and the reason is that during a total lunar eclipse, the entire moon falls within the darkest part of the Earth’s shadow, which is called the umbra. It creates the effect of that reddish, orange hue.
Last April’s solar eclipse was referred to as a once-in-a-lifetime event (another one isn’t scheduled to pass through that same area again until 2144), however, total lunar eclipses aren’t as rare. Unlike solar eclipses, it is safe to watch a lunar eclipse with the naked eye and no special eye protection is necessary, says the CSA. You don’t even need a telescope or binoculars – just look up into the night sky. Fortunately, we have very little light pollution in the 705 and that allows for a better view of the lunar eclipses. Environment Canada says we will have minimal cloud cover tonight, so we should be able to see the eclipse clearly.
According to NASA, the entirety of the lunar eclipse cycle will take about six hours with totality lasting for just over an hour and peak strength estimated right in the middle of that hour. In our region that will be 2:26 a.m. to 3:01 a.m. on March 14th. If you miss this year’s total lunar eclipse, the next one arrives on March 2, 2026.
