Rare blood moon to light up Greater Victoria early Tuesday morning
Published 5:00 pm Monday, March 2, 2026
Those up early enough on Tuesday morning will have a chance to spot a celestial rarity in the skies above Greater Victoria.
After midnight, a total lunar eclipse will lend the moon a dark-red appearance.
The phenomenon, also called a blood moon, occurs when the Earth passes directly between the sun and moon, casting a massive shadow across the lunar surface.
NASA says the moon reddens at these times because “the light that does reach the lunar surface is filtered through a thick slice of Earth’s atmosphere.”
“It’s as if all of the world’s sunrises and sunsets are projected onto the moon,” adds the space agency.
While lunar eclipses occur between four and seven times per year, blood moons fill the skies on average every 2.5 years.
NASA says the moon will enter the outer part of Earth’s shadow at 12:44 a.m. While its light will begin to dim then, that reddish effect marking the moon’s valleys and craters will be subtle. A partial eclipse will begin at 1:50 a.m. as the moon moves further into the Earth’s shadow. The total eclipse starts at 3:04 a.m. By then, the moon will be tinted red. This phase ends at 4:02 a.m.
As Earth’s shadow dims the lunar surface, constellations may be easier to spot than they usually are during a full moon.
Looking at a blood moon doesn’t require any special equipment.
The next total lunar eclipse won’t happen again until 2028.