The lunar eclipse starts around 11:09 Thursday with totality visible — weather permitting — from 12:26 to 1:31 a.m. Friday
If skies remain clear, Calgarians will be able to watch a total lunar eclipse late Thursday night into Friday morning.
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A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth, moon and sun align, and Earth casts a shadow covering the moon. The sunlight passing through Earth’s atmosphere creates a red or orange hue on the moon. Because of this, the phenomenon is sometimes called a blood moon.
“It’s a very spectacular phenomenon,” said Jeroen Stil, associate professor at the University of Calgary. “You’ll see a full moon that is dark red.”
The reason the moon turns red during a total lunar eclipse is the same reason sunsets are red, said Stil.
“It’s as if all the world’s sunrises and sunsets are projected onto the Moon,” said NASA, the U.S. space agency, in a post about the eclipse.
While typically dark red or orange, the precise colour reflected on the moon is difficult to predict, said Stil, because of contents of Earth’s atmosphere at the time of the eclipse. Things like aerosols, particles and clouds will have an impact on the blood moon’s appearance.
“Eclipses are different every time in their hue and brightness.”
The process will take several hours to unfold, with the lunar eclipse beginning around 11:09 p.m. on Thursday. Totality is expected from 12:26 to 1:31 a.m. on Friday — the blood moon will be at its peak at 12:58 a.m.
The red hue will be visible just before, during and directly following totality.
The moon needs to move directly into the shadow of the Earth, which it only does about twice a year. Of those two times, it doesn’t always line up precise enough to create a total eclipse.
Stil said a total eclipse happens roughly once a year, but is not always visible in all parts of the world.
“Now we have to be lucky that when that happens, we are on the right side of the Earth to see the moon.”
Lunar eclipses are easily observable and require no specialized equipment, and the phenomenon can even be photographed using a cellphone camera under the right circumstances.
Unlike a solar eclipse, a lunar eclipse is safe to view with the naked eye. Binoculars or a telescope can be used for a more detailed view of the eclipse.
While watching the eclipse, Stil advises viewers to keep an eye on the stars around the moon. As the moon traverses the shadow of the Earth, and gradually moves left, the stars around it will be more visible and easily seen with no equipment.
The next total lunar eclipse expected to be visible from Calgary is on March 2, 2026.