Partial lunar eclipse to grace Canadian skies this week

Partial lunar eclipse to grace Canadian skies this week

Lunar eclipse comes 2 weeks after total solar eclipse seen in parts of Europe

On the night of Aug. 27-28, a partial lunar eclipse will be visible across the country.

The eclipse comes roughly two weeks after the total solar eclipse that was seen across Iceland, Spain and a small portion of Portugal.

While this will be a partial eclipse, it will be a deep one, with 93 per cent coverage at its maximum.

Lunar eclipses occur when the moon moves through Earth’s shadow, called its umbra. Before it enters the umbra, however, it passes through Earth’s outer, dimmer shadow, called the penumbra. However, because it is much dimmer, it’s difficult to see with the naked eye when this occurs.

Most of Canada will see the entire duration of the eclipse, while Western Canada will see the partial eclipse already taking place as the moon rises.

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The great news is that, unlike with a solar eclipse, you don’t need any protective eyewear to watch the event.

Also unlike a solar eclipse, a lunar eclipse takes place over hours, not minutes.

The eclipse will begin as the moon enters Earth’s penumbra at roughly 10 p.m. ET, but that’s not when you want to go out to start observing.

Instead, the visible part of the eclipse begins at 10:33 p.m. ET on Aug. 27 and ends at 1:52 a.m. on Aug. 28. The deepest part of the eclipse will occur at 12:13 a.m. with almost all of the moon appearing darkened.

This is just one of many astronomical events taking place this month.

"It's kind of a fun one because … August had so many great things going on for it and still does," said Elaina Hyde, director of the Allan I. Carswell Observatory York University’s department of physics and astronomy in Toronto.

"We had, of course, the very, very partial solar eclipse back on August 12th. We had the Perseids, which were either fabulous or slightly less fabulous, depending on how cloudy your skies were. And, of course, the Jupiter-Mercury conjunction."

"It's a partial eclipse, so it's not going to turn 100 per cent red, but depending on where you are in Canada, it will still be pretty red," Hyde said.

The great thing about lunar eclipses is that there's no need for any equipment — just your eyes.

"This is a naked eye object, but if you have binoculars or a small telescope or just a [cellphone] camera with a really good night mode, you should be able to get pretty good pictures," Hyde said.

Based in Toronto, Nicole covers all things science for CBC News. As an amateur astronomer, Nicole can be found looking up at the night sky appreciating the marvels of our universe. She is the editor of the Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada and the author of several books. In 2021, she won the Kavli Science Journalism Award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science for a Quirks and Quarks audio special on the history and future of Black people in science. You can send her story ideas at nicole.mortillaro@cbc.ca.