A total lunar eclipse blood moon will fill the sky over Ontario this week
If the sky is clear, space-lovers will see totality in the early morning hours of Friday
If you look up at the sky late, late Thursday in the Toronto area, there's a chance you'll be able to see a total lunar eclipse and what's called a blood moon.
The perfect alignment of the sun, Earth, and moon will paint the full moon a red-orange colour, with the remaining rays peaking out from around our planet, according to NASA.
"Total lunar eclipses are a little bit more rare, but they're always really striking to see," Ontario Science Centre's staff astronomer Rachel Ward-Maxwell told CBC Toronto.
"What's really special about these sorts of events is it connects us with so many different people from all different parts of the planet… that is a really special, unifying feeling."
This event is actually two occurrences coming together: a total eclipse of the moon by the Earth at the same time as it goes through a full moon phase for March.
Though lunar eclipses happen about twice a year, what kind of view stargazers get depends on your time zone.
Luckily for the Toronto area and Ontario, we'll have the opportunity to see the full extent of the blood moon against the night sky — so long as the weather permits and skies are clear.
"This time we win," Dr. Ralph Chou, an eclipse-chaser and past president of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Toronto Centre, said, happy that he can watch his eclipse from home.
Chou says he'll be staying up late and using his backyard observatory — a SkyShed POD made in Canada — to take pictures of the lunar eclipse.
"Eclipses are special because they are are part of the dance of the Earth and the moon around the sun… And it's especially good when you don't have to travel for it," he said.
The event officially starts at 11:57 p.m. on Thursday, reaching its best form, totality, at 2:26 a.m. Friday and ends at 6:00 a.m.
Another lunar eclipse won't be visible on this side of the planet until 2029.
Why does the moon appear blood red?
Even though during a total eclipse, the Earth covers the moon from the sun's direct path, the leftover light creates a red-orange hue, the same way sunsets do, says Dr. Elaina Hyde, astronomer, associate professor and director of the Allan I. Carswell Observatory at York University.
"The red blood moon is a really interesting effect because the redness comes from Earth's atmosphere," she said, explaining how the atmosphere bends the light, causing the red hues to shine on the moon.
However, the shade of red depends on other conditions, like what's happening in the atmosphere at that same time, Chou says. If there's a storm or if a volcano erupts, light is obscured and the moon appears dark red, but if the air is clear it'll shine an orange colour.
"That's a sort of a gamble," he said.
Unlike a solar eclipse or other cosmic events that require eye protection or equipment, a lunar eclipse can be enjoyed easily — just look up.
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With files from Anand Ram