On Sunday night, if the sky is clear, Canadians will be able to watch one of the most beautiful celestial events: a total lunar eclipse.
This is the first total lunar eclipse of the year and the first since last May. The best part is that it will be visible all over the country, although not all Canadians will see the whole event for five and a half hours.
The eclipse begins late Sunday night and lasts until early Monday morning.
Lunar eclipses occur when the Moon passes through the Earth’s shadow.
The moon actually has two shadows: one is the penumbra – the fainter outer shadow of the Earth – but it is almost invisible to the human eye. The most exciting and dramatic part, however, is when the moon glides over the inner, darker shadow of the Earth, the darkness.
During this time, depending on the atmosphere, the moon may appear to take on a shade of red, which is why total lunar eclipses are sometimes called “bloody moons”.
A total lunar eclipse is pictured over Toronto on January 21, 2019 (Nicole Mortyaro)
This eclipse also occurs near the time when the moon is in perigee or closest to its lunar orbit – which is why it is sometimes called a “supermoon” lunar eclipse (although it is difficult for humans to notice the small difference in size).
And as if “blood moon” and “supermoon” are not enough names for this event, this month is also “color moon”. the name given by the Almanac to the old farmer for the full moon this month.
How to see it
Unlike total solar eclipses, in which the aggregate (when the moon covers the solar disk) can last only a minute or a few, the aggregate in lunar eclipses can last more than an hour.
In Sunday’s eclipse, in total it will last about 85 minutes.
However, the eclipse itself will last about five and a half hours. It begins when the moon enters the penumbra, but as we mentioned earlier, it will be invisible to the human eye.
The excitement begins when the moon enters the canopy. At first it will look as if something has bitten off the moon. This is the partial phase of the eclipse. As night falls, however, this “bite” gets bigger and bigger.
This map illustrates how much of the eclipse will be seen where you live. (CBC News)
Then, when it enters completely, most of the moon may appear pale reddish in color as the Earth’s atmosphere scatters light from the sun, which will lie just behind it. Light with longer wavelengths – such as orange and red – is refracted or bent around the Earth, where it eventually reaches the Moon.
There are some predictions that due to the dust released during the giant volcanic eruption in Tonga in January, the dust in the atmosphere could make this dark eclipse: instead of being red, it can darken a lot.
The eclipse will be seen entirely to the east and will be in progress when the moon rises west of Ontario.
To enjoy it, all you have to do is go outside and look up – and hope for clear skies. No binoculars or telescopes are needed, but since the eclipse starts late at night in some parts of the country and lasts for almost six hours, you may want to stay up late.
And if you’re eclipsed, you can watch it live online at The Virtual Telescope Project.
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