Amateur astronomers in Montreal flocked together early Tuesday, braving the predawn cold to capture and view the last lunar eclipse of 2022.
Starting at 4 a.m. Tuesday, about a hundred stargazers gathered in Jeanne-Mance Park to witness the “Beaver Blood Moon” event.
“People are willing to stand in line and freeze to get a glimpse of this,” said Trevor Kjorlien, founder of Plateau Astro and viewing party organizer.
“I think that is awesome.”
READ MORE: Full eclipse of ‘Beaver Blood Moon’ over Alberta sky
The celestial event, during which the moon took on a reddish hue as it passed through Earth’s shadow, lasted close to three hours and 40 minutes.
The event peaked at 5:16 a.m., when the moon appeared dark orange or red.
“What you’re seeing there is the movement of the moon around the earth. It’s a really, really cool moment to see and witness that movement in real-time,” Kjorlien said.
Experienced space enthusiasts were on hand to snap a few pictures of the rare event.
“It’s pretty cool to be here in the cold but we don’t see this very often so if you have to get up early for one day in the whole year, I think it’s worth it,” Sarah Leck said.
Leck was one of many who set up cameras with long telephoto lenses to shoot a timelapse of the earth’s shadow as it moved along the lunar surface.
Khoa Tran said he took close to 200 photos and was happy mother nature was forgiving, as there were little to no clouds in the sky.
“It’s not something that happens too often, and it’s even more rare that it is a completely clear night,” Tran said.
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If you missed Tuesday’s Beaver Blood Moon event, you won’t have a chance to see another for a while.
The next full lunar eclipse won’t occur until March 14, 2025.
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Luckily there will be partial eclipses to look out for in the meantime.
Kjorlien said that even though he was been witness to several starry sky moments, each is different.
“Watch as many celestial events like this as you can because you get a different taste for each one — getting a personal story out of it,” Kjorlien said.
READ MORE: Beaver Blood Moon — 2022’s last lunar eclipse to take place on Nov. 8
According to the website Almanac.com, the name “Beaver Moon” refers to it happening during the month when beavers begin taking shelter in their lodges. Since lunar eclipses are also called “Blood Moons,” Tuesday’s event was known as a Beaver Blood Moon.
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