There will be a total lunar eclipse late tonight.
According to the Director of the Rothney Astrophysical Observatory and Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Calgary, Dr. Phil Langill, the eclipse will start to become noticeable around midnight.
"At about 11:30 at night, you're going to start noticing that the moon is getting darker," Langill explains. "It's going to be a full moon. So, we only get Lunar Eclipses when it's a full moon. That means the sun is going to set on the western half of the sky and the moon is going to rise at the same time on the eastern half of the sky."
The full eclipse will occur between roughly 12:30 and 1:30 a.m., giving people an hour to head out and check out the eclipse
"The moon is going to look fantastically dark, and then the whole thing will be over by about 2:30 or 3 o'clock in the morning."
Dr. Langill says that Lunar Eclipses only occur when there is a full moon, because the different moon phases, such as a quarter or half moon, is based on the relative orientation in the sky between where the sun, Earth, and the moon are.
"So, to get a full moon, you have to have the sun on one side in the sky and the moon on the other side of the sky, so the earth is kind of in the middle. And the sun and the moon are on opposite sides of the earth. But, that's also the alignment you need to get a lunar eclipse," Dr. Langill says.
Lunar eclipses occur when the Earth travels between the sun and the moon, causing Earth's shadow to fall onto the moon.
While full moons happen every month, lunar eclipses only happen every six months or so, because the moon rarely crosses over into the shadow of Earth.
Lunar eclipses are also known as the Blood Moon, because the moon appears to be glowing a deep red colour due to Earth's atmosphere removing the blue light from the sun and letting the red light pass.
"And so, the red light is what eventually makes its way to the moon. So, when we see the moon in the shadow of the earth, it's being illuminated by red light."
Dr. Langill says that if you were standing on the moon when a lunar eclipse happens, it will look as though the earth is blocking out the sun, but Earth's atmosphere will look fuzzy and red, because you are looking at all of the sunsets around the whole planet at the same time.
"Which would be fun. I hope someday that somebody takes a picture of that from the moon."
While you are advised not to look at a solar eclipse, due to the brightness of the sun, lunar eclipses are safe to look at with the naked eye, because there is significantly less light bouncing back, and you are basically just looking at the moon.
"The fact that [the moon] is going to get a little bit dimmer by falling into the earth's shadow makes it easier to see."
Because it's just the moon slowly lumbering across the sky over the course of several hours, you won't need a telescope or binoculars to see the eclipse happening.
While there is a lunar eclipse happening tonight, not everyone on earth will get to see it, because the moon will be on our side of the planet when the eclipse is occurring.
Dr. Langill explains that the eclipse will begin after the moon has begun to set in England.
"So, for them, the sun is coming up in the east and the moon is setting in the west right when all of this starts. So, they are going to miss the whole thing," Dr. Langill said.
During a lunar eclipse, thanks to the brightness of the moon being dimmed for a bit, the stars will become more visible for all to enjoy.
If you want to check out the eclipse, don't forget to set your alarm.