Gary Boyle, known as ‘The Backyard Astronomer’, is an astronomy educator, guest speaker and monthly columnist for the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada and we LOVE him!  Gary keeps us up to date about all the happenings in our beautiful night sky. Sunday night Mother Nature is putting on a special show as the moon, earth and sun will line up for the only total lunar eclipse of 2019 and 2020.  Gary has provided us with the best times for viewing all across the country.

A total lunar eclipse is a magical event to witness and our next chance comes on the night of January 20/21 with all of North America having a ring side seat for the entire show. An eclipse is a result of the perfect line-up of the sun, earth and moon. This does not occur every month as our moon has a slight incline in its orbit that often misses earth’s shadow.

In contrast to a solar eclipse where the moon blocks the sun and special filters are a must for safety reasons, a lunar eclipse is simply the full moon sliding into our planet’s shadow. During totality the lunar surface turns a copper orange due to sunlight refracting or passing through our atmosphere much like those hot summer sunsets on earth.

If you were on the moon, you would see an orange ring around the earth. From this vantage point you would see every sunset on the left side of the earth along with every sunrise on the right side at the same time. The next total lunar eclipse will take place on May 16, 2022 where the east and central part of the continent are favoured to see the entire eclipse.

Here is the schedule in local times:

Labrador

Partial umbral eclipse begins: 11:34 p.m. (January 20) The moon begins to enter the shadow.

Total lunar eclipse begins: 12:41 a.m. (January 21)

Mid eclipse: 1:12 a.m. (January 21)

Total lunar eclipse ends: 1:43 a.m. (January 21)

Partial umbral eclipse ends: 2:51 a.m. (January 21) The moon completely exits the shadow.

New Brunswick

Partial umbral eclipse begins: 11:34 p.m. (January 20) The moon begins to enter the shadow.

Total lunar eclipse begins: 12:41 a.m. (January 21)

Mid eclipse: 1:12 a.m. (January 21)

Total lunar eclipse ends: 1:43 a.m. (January 21)

Partial umbral eclipse ends: 2:51 a.m. (January 21) The moon completely exits the shadow.

Prince Edward Island

Partial umbral eclipse begins: 11:34 p.m. (January 20) The moon begins to enter the shadow.

Total lunar eclipse begins: 12:41 a.m. (January 21)

Mid eclipse: 1:12 a.m. (January 21)

Total lunar eclipse ends: 1:43 a.m. (January 21)

Partial umbral eclipse ends: 2:51 a.m. (January 21) The moon completely exits the shadow.

Nova Scotia

Partial umbral eclipse begins: 11:34 p.m. (January 20) The moon begins to enter the shadow.

Total lunar eclipse begins: 12:41 a.m. (January 21)

Mid eclipse: 1:12 a.m. (January 21)

Total lunar eclipse ends: 1:43 a.m. (January 21)

Partial umbral eclipse ends: 2:51 a.m. (January 21) The moon completely exits the shadow.

Newfoundland

Partial umbral eclipse begins: 12:03 a.m. (January 21) The moon begins to enter the shadow.

Total lunar eclipse begins: 1:11 a.m. (January 21)

Mid eclipse: 1:42 a.m. (January 21)

Total lunar eclipse ends: 2:13 a.m. (January 21)

Partial umbral eclipse ends: 3:20 a.m. (January 21) The moon completely exits the shadow. 

Eastern Time

Partial umbral eclipse begins: 10:34 p.m. (January 20)

The moon begins to enter the shadow

Total lunar eclipse begins: 11:41 p.m. (January 20)

Mid eclipse: 12:12 a.m. (January 21) Total lunar eclipse ends: 12:43 a.m. (January 21)

Partial umbral eclipse ends: 1:51 a.m. (January 21)The moon completely exits the shadow

Central Time

Partial umbral eclipse begins: 9:34 p.m. (January 20) The moon begins to enter the shadow

Total lunar eclipse begins: 10:41 p.m. (January 20)

Mid eclipse: 11:12 p.m. (January 20)

Total lunar eclipse ends: 11:43 p.m. (January 20)

Partial umbral eclipse ends: 12:51 a.m. (January 21) The moon completely exits the shadow

Mountain Time

Partial umbral eclipse begins: 8:34 p.m. (January 20) The moon begins to enter the shadow

Total lunar eclipse begins: 9:41 p.m. (January 20)

Mid eclipse: 10:12 p.m. (January 20)

Total lunar eclipse ends: 10:43 p.m. (January 20)

Partial umbral eclipse ends: 11:51 p.m. (January 20) The moon completely exits the shadow

Pacific Time

Partial umbral eclipse begins: 7:34 p.m. (January 20) The moon begins to enter the shadow

Total lunar eclipse begins: 8:41 p.m. (January 20)

Mid eclipse: 9:12 p.m. (January 20)

Total lunar eclipse ends: 9:43 p.m. (January 20)

Partial umbral eclipse ends: 10:51 p.m. (January 20) The moon completely exits the shadow

Known as “The Backyard Astronomer”, Gary Boyle is an astronomy educator, guest speaker and monthly columnist for the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. He has been interviewed on more than 50 Canadian radio stations and local Ottawa TV. The International Astronomical Union has honoured him with the naming of Asteroid (22406) Garyboyle. Follow him on Twitter: @astroeducator or his website: www.wondersofastronomy.com

(Editor – Feel free to publish this article and my photo or contact me for an interview).

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