Total Lunar Eclipse | Quebecers in the front row

Here’s what to watch and when

At 9:32 p.m. – first act – eclipse by penumbra – 55 minutes

The Moon then enters the area of ​​penumbra which borders the shadow zone projected by the Earth. At this point, our satellite remains grey. To perceive that its luminosity is weakening is almost impossible, since it still receives solar rays, indicates Mr. Grandchamps. “But it can be seen by comparing two photos,” he says.

At 10:27 p.m. – second act – partial eclipse – 61 minutes

The Moon is slowly penetrating the Earth’s shadow cone. Even with the naked eye, the darkness can easily be seen nibbling at its surface, spreading from left to right as the rounded profile of our planet gains ground. The illuminated part of the Moon thus takes the form of a crescent, which becomes thinner and thinner.

Ancient peoples – like the Egyptians, Mayans, Incas and Chinese of another era – apparently believed that a sow, a jaguar, a three-legged toad or a demon swallowed the Moon during eclipses.

At 11:28 p.m. – third act and highlight of the show – total eclipse – 84 minutes

The Moon finds itself completely swallowed up by the shadow of the Earth and becomes much less bright, which allows the appearance of stars usually masked by its strong light.

At this point, the Moon changes color (find out why below). Rust, brick red… The color it takes on is never exactly the same from one eclipse to another.

It all depends on its height, trajectory and air pollution, among other things.

This time, André Grandchamps expects “a beautiful bright red”, since the Moon will brush against the heart of the shadow cone projected by the Earth.

At the peak of the eclipse, at 12:11 a.m. sharp, the hue will become particularly pronounced.

At 12:54 a.m. – fourth act – reverse partial eclipse – 61 minutes

The Moon will begin to move out of the Earth’s shadow. Its darkened portion will still be draped in red, but will appear black to us, in contrast to the neighboring portion, which will again become bathed in sunlight.

At 1:55 a.m. – fifth act – eclipse by inverted penumbra – 56 minutes

The Moon is again entirely in penumbra rather than in shadow and turns gray again.

Why does the Moon appear red to us during total eclipses?

When the Earth shields the Sun, its light can no longer reach the Moon without passing through our atmosphere. When they penetrate this gaseous layer, the solar rays – which carry all the hues of the rainbow – deflect in different directions, depending on their wavelengths. Purple, blue, green or yellow waves – shorter – scatter strongly in the wrong direction. While the red or orange waves – longer – partly reach the Moon, where they are reflected. This is what makes it go from a grayish white to a more or less intense red. The same phenomenon – called refraction – explains the color of sunsets.