{"id":509942,"date":"2026-03-02T18:39:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T18:39:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/509942\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T18:39:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T18:39:14","slug":"blood-moon-set-to-dazzle-early-morning-sky-over-canada","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/509942\/","title":{"rendered":"Blood Moon set to dazzle early\u2011morning sky over Canada"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Canadians willing to wake up early on Tuesday morning will be treated to a rare celestial show as a total lunar eclipse turns the Moon a coppery red. <\/p>\n<p>The phenomenon\u2014popularly known as a \u201cblood Moon\u201d\u2014will be visible across much of North America, including Canada, during the pre\u2011dawn hours.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/solar-system\/moon\/march-2026-total-lunar-eclipse-your-questions-answered\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">According to NASA<\/a>, unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses require no special eye protection. As long as the skies are clear, anyone with an unobstructed view of the Moon will be able to watch Earth\u2019s shadow gradually sweep across its surface.<\/p>\n<p>The eclipse begins subtly when the Moon enters Earth\u2019s outer shadow, known as the penumbra, early Tuesday morning. While the initial dimming is faint, the event becomes unmistakable as the Moon slides deeper into the planet\u2019s central shadow.<\/p>\n<p>When Canadians can look up<\/p>\n<p>Here are the key moments for Eastern Time (ET), with Canadian viewers from coast to coast adjusting accordingly:<\/p>\n<p>3:44 a.m. ET \u2014 Penumbral eclipse begins: Slight dimming starts; difficult to notice.<\/p>\n<p>4:50 a.m. ET \u2014 Partial eclipse begins: A dark \u201cbite\u201d appears on the Moon as Earth\u2019s umbra takes hold.<\/p>\n<p>6:04 a.m. ET \u2014 Totality begins: The Moon is fully engulfed in shadow, glowing red.<\/p>\n<p>7:03 a.m. ET \u2014 Totality ends: The reddish tint fades as the Moon moves out of the umbra.<\/p>\n<p>8:17 a.m. ET \u2014 Partial eclipse ends<\/p>\n<p>9:23 a.m. ET \u2014 Eclipse ends completely<\/p>\n<p>For many Canadians\u2014especially in the eastern half of the country\u2014totality will occur fairly close to moonset, making a clear horizon especially helpful.<\/p>\n<p>Why the Moon turns red<\/p>\n<p>The \u201cblood Moon\u201d effect results from sunlight filtering through Earth\u2019s atmosphere. While the planet blocks direct sunlight from reaching the Moon, some light bends around Earth, scattering shorter blue wavelengths and allowing longer red and orange tones to bathe the lunar surface. <\/p>\n<p>The result resembles the colours seen during sunrises and sunsets\u2014only projected onto the Moon hundreds of thousands of kilometres away.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/iStock-1009899728-edited.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4777643\" style=\"width:1097px;height:auto\"\/>Canadians willing to wake up early on Tuesday morning will be treated to a rare celestial show as a total lunar eclipse turns the Moon a coppery red. Photo: Getty Images.<\/p>\n<p>With the Moon dimmed during the eclipse, stargazers may notice more stars and constellations than are typically visible during a full Moon. NASA says the eclipse will unfold while the Moon sits in the constellation Leo, near the lion\u2019s hind paws.<\/p>\n<p>And the night sky has more in store: on Sunday, March 8, a few days after the eclipse, Venus and Saturn will appear in a close conjunction, offering another striking sight just before dawn.<\/p>\n<p>NASA says strophotographers hoping to capture the eclipse should use a tripod and exposures lasting several seconds during totality, when the Moon is at its dimmest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Canadians willing to wake up early on Tuesday morning will be treated to a rare celestial show as&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":509943,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[49,48,44],"class_list":{"0":"post-509942","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-canada","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/509942","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=509942"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/509942\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/509943"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=509942"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=509942"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=509942"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}