‘Blood moon’ visible across Canada overnight, early morning: NASA

Canadians across the country are in for a celestial treat starting overnight.

NASA says a total lunar eclipse will redden the moon Tuesday and will be visible across the country.

A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth passes between the sun and the moon. When that happens, a gigantic shadow is cast across the lunar surface, turning it into a “blood moon” due to its deep reddish-orange colour, NASA said in a post on its website.

The alignment can only occur during a full moon phase.

The show will unfold over several hours, with totality lasting about an hour.

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Compared with a solar eclipse, “the lunar eclipse is a little more of a relaxed pace,” Catherine Miller with Middlebury College’s Mittelman Observatory told The Associated Press.

2:20 Stargazers gather worldwide in hopes to see rare blood moon

For those in the path, there’s no need for any special equipment to observe — just a clear, cloudless view of the sky.

NASA says the eclipse’s penumbral phase begins at 3:44 a.m. eastern (12:44 a.m. Pacific). Totality begins at 6:04 a.m. eastern (3:04 a.m. Pacific) and will last for an hour. The eclipse will dissipate by 9:23 a.m. eastern (6:23 a.m. Pacific).

A partial lunar eclipse is also set for August, and will be visible across the Americas, Europe, Africa and west Asia. Solar and lunar eclipses happen between four and seven times a year, NASA states.

The next total lunar eclipse is expected to occur in late 2028.

— with files from The Associated Press