RARE EVENT: Catch a glimpse of the beaver blood moon, final full lunar eclipse till 2025, says College of Guelph physicist

It will be the last total lunar eclipse until March 2025, and you’ll get a chance to see it across the sky on Tuesday morning, Nov. 8.

The eclipse, also called a “beaver blood moon,” will begin at around 3 a.m. on Tuesday, then move to a full eclipse, which will take place from 5:17 a.m. to 6:42 a.m. The best part is, you don’t need any special equipment to view it.

“Unlike a solar eclipse, lunar eclipses are safe to view with the naked eye,” said Jason Thomas, a.k.a. Burnaby Q. Orbax, a lecturer in the department of physics in the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences at the University of Guelph and co-founder of Royal City Science, in a news release.

But “if you want to get some extra definition while viewing, a pair of binoculars or a small telescope would help,” he added. To avoid light pollution, though, Orbax recommends getting away from the city on Tuesday morning.

WHY IS IT CALLED A “BEAVER BLOOD MOON”?

The name acknowledges the time of year when the rodents are “hurriedly collecting their food stores and hiding them in their lodges for the long winter ahead,” Orbax explained, noting the Anishinaabe, Mi’gmaq and Cree names for this month’s full moon refer to the drop in temperatures at this time of year.

“Blood moon” is another term for a lunar eclipse and refers to the eerie red light the moon is bathed in during the event, says the release.

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