Tuesday morning’s “beaver blood moon” will be the last total lunar eclipse until March 14, 2025. There will be two partial and two partial eclipses between now and then. This is the second total lunar eclipse this year, making it a rare occurrence as they usually only happen every year and a half or so. It will probably take some cooperation from the skies above to get a clear view of the area. The Sault Ste. The Marie forecast calls for clear skies so you might be lucky. If you’re planning to head out in the early hours to take a look with the naked eye, binoculars or a telescope, be warned that temperatures are expected to drop below freezing after an unseasonably warm spell. Stages of the eclipse in the EST time zone:
Partial Umbilical Eclipse Start: 4:09 AM The Moon enters the Earth’s shadow. Total Lunar Eclipse Begins: 5:16 AM The Moon turns dark orange or red. Greater eclipse: 5:59 am Midpoint of the eclipse. Total Lunar Eclipse Ends: 6:41 AM The Moon begins to leave the shadow as it sets in the west. Umbilical Eclipse Partial: Moon ready.
If your view is blocked by pesky cloud cover, fear not, there will be a live feed from TimeAndDate.com, shared and powered by NASA. The stream below is scheduled to go live at 4 a.m. EST on Tuesday.
For more from NASA on Tuesday morning’s total lunar eclipse, click here. The name “beaver blood moon” recognizes the time of year when the rodents “hastily gather their food stores and hide them in their shelters for the long winter ahead,” University of Guelph physicist Burnaby Orbax explains in a press release. noting the Anishinaabe. The Mi’gmaq and Cree names for this month’s full moon refer to the drop in temperatures this time of year. Renowned astronomy instructor Gary Boyle says throughout antiquity, the blood moon was “an omen of the impending doom of war or even demons. Superstition ruled the heavens in the early days.” See about it from Boyle: Full Beaver Moon promises amazing show Lunar eclipses are safe to see with the naked eye and do not require complicated equipment to watch them, unlike solar eclipses. With clouds potentially obscuring views in these places, live streaming may have to do for sky watchers.
