Article content

[np_storybar title=”Lunar eclipse makes for eerie ‘blood moon’ as skywatchers see Earth’s satellite turn red in planet’s shadow

” link=”http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/04/15/lunar-eclipse-makes-for-eerie-blood-moon-as-skywatchers-see-earths-satellite-turn-red-in-planets-shadow/”]

[/np_storybar]

MONTREAL — Canadians from coast to coast will get a chance to view a total lunar eclipse overnight overnight on Monday and very early on Tuesday morning — the first of four that will occur nearly every six months and be visible across Canada.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Lunar eclipse overnight on Monday first of a tetrad of ‘red moons’ Canadians could see in 2014/2015 Back to video

Total lunar eclipses occur twice a year, but they aren’t visible everywhere on Earth at the same time.

Of course, Canadians will only be able to see the celestial phenomenon if they can pull themselves out of bed — the year’s first eclipse will begin just before 2 a.m. EDT on Tuesday morning and will offer ideal viewing for observers throughout the Western Hemisphere.

Andrew Fazekas, a spokesman for the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, says North America hasn’t seen a total lunar eclipse since 2011.

“We’ve actually had this cosmic dry spell that we’ve been under that’s lasted over two and a half years now,” he said in a recent interview.

Fazekas noted that North America has been out of luck while Asia and Africa have had their share of such eclipses.