In the early hours of Tuesday, Mar. 3, a total lunar eclipse, sometimes called a blood moon, was visible to much of North and South America, but stargazers in the Rainy River District once more lost out due to weather.
“A lunar eclipse occurs when Earth is between the Moon and the Sun. The Moon passes through the shadow cast by Earth,” read a statement from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) on lunar eclipses.
“This phenomenon can only happen during a full moon, when the Moon is on the opposite side of Earth from the Sun. Unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses can be seen by practically an entire hemisphere, which means that a much larger number of people can see them for a longer period of time.
Being the only full moon in March, the Farmers’ Almanac referred to this as a Worm Moon. Since a lunar eclipse happened at the same time, some were calling it a Blood Worm Moon.
“A total lunar eclipse will go through all three stages [of a lunar eclipse] and will usually last between 30 and 60 minutes,” the CSA said in the release.
“Even during a total lunar eclipse, the Moon is never completely invisible. Sunlight is refracted through the Earth’s atmosphere and gives the Moon a red hue, which is where the name Blood Moon comes from.”
According to The Song of the Stars, a book written by the local educator and citizen-of-the-year Robert Horton, the Anishinaabe name for this moon is Aandego-giizis – the Crow Moon.
The penumbral lunar eclipse of Aandego-giizis, the Crow Moon, occurred in the early morning of Mar. 3, around 2:44 a.m. Central, before moving into partial eclipse at 3:50 a.m., with the total lunar eclipse starting at about 5:04 a.m.
While no special protection or equipment was needed to view the lunar eclipse in areas where the weather permitted – lunar eclipses are safe to view with the naked eye – using binoculars, a telescope, or a camera would have helped make viewing the eclipse a bit easier.
However, there’s no handheld tool that can turn a cloudy sky into a clear one, so those in the Rainy River District hoping to watch one of the universe’s great displays will have to cross their fingers and wait until the next lunar eclipse in 2026, which will be a partial lunar eclipse according to timeanddate.com.
The same website states that a very partial portion of the August 12, 2026, solar eclipse will be viewable in the district.
According to the CSA, only two lunar eclipses happen each year, and a total lunar eclipse, also called a Blood Moon, happens in 37.3 per cent of all lunar eclipses.
