A total lunar eclipse will light up the night sky, and Canada is one of the best places to see it.
You can watch as the moon turns red from all over Ontario, including Toronto and the GTA.
This lunar eclipse is happening in the early morning hours on Tuesday, March 3, 2026.
It’s known as a blood moon because during a total eclipse, the moon looks red or orange instead of its usual white-grey colour.
There are three phases of a total lunar eclipse: penumbral, partial and full.
During the start of the partial phase, the moon darkens as it enters Earth’s umbra. The part of the moon that’s still in the penumbral part of Earth’s shadow will appear brighter.
Then, the moon becomes red during the full phase when the umbra completely covers it.
All of the eclipse phases will be visible in Toronto and the rest of Ontario, but not in their entirety.
Here are the times for the eclipse in Toronto on March 3:
- penumbral begins at 3:44 a.m.
- partial begins at 4:50 a.m.
- full begins at 6:04 a.m.
You can see the eclipse at its maximum point at 6:33 a.m., but the end of the full, partial and penumbral phases won’t be visible in Toronto because moonset is at 6:52 a.m.
The duration of totality in Toronto is 48 minutes, so you get to see the blood moon for almost an hour!
Places in southwestern Ontario like Windsor, Sarnia, Chatham and Leamington will be able to see the end of the full phase before the moon sets.
Also, in northern Ontario, moonset is after the end of the full phase. That includes Sault Ste. Marie, Timmins, Thunder Bay and Kenora.
But even those places won’t get a view of the end of the eclipse before the moon dips below the horizon.
If you want to see the total lunar eclipse in Toronto or anywhere else in Ontario, you don’t need any special equipment. Unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses are safe to view with the naked eye.
This article’s cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.
