Lunar Eclipse, early March 3, 2026
- Julie Bolduc-Duval
- Feb 25
- 3 min read
A total lunar eclipse will take place the night of Monday, March 2 to Tuesday, March 3, 2026. This eclipse will be visible everywhere in Canada, but the timing might make it tricky to catch!
For people in Eastern Canada, the eclipse will be in the early hours of the morning and the Moon will set still eclipsed at sunrise. We will need to get up early to be able to observe it. For people in the West, the eclipse will occur in the middle of the night. More precise details are given below.
What is a lunar eclipse?
A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes through the Earth's shadow, called the umbra. This phenomenon can only occur on nights with a full moon —that's when the alignment is perfect for an eclipse.
What will we see?
The eclipse takes place over a period of a few hours. The eclipse officially begins when the Moon enters the penumbra of the Earth while moving in its orbit. However, this change in luminosity is hardly perceptible to the eye. For most people, the real show begins when the Moon slowly enters the Earth's umbra. At this point, part of the Moon seems to be missing because it's no longer illuminated by the Sun. This is a partial eclipse.
For people in the Eastern Time Zone, the partial eclipse will begin at 4:50 a.m. and progress until 6:04 a.m., when the Moon will be completely in the Earth's shadow. This is the total eclipse. During the total eclipse, the Moon is still visible but much darker and takes on an orange-red hue. The total eclipse will last until the Moon sets, around 6:30 a.m depending on your location.
We think it's worth getting up early to see the show! The eclipsed Moon be beautiful if you have clear skies and a view of the western horizon (the Moon will be quite low).
In the Pacific Time Zone, the partial eclipse will begin at 1:09 a.m. and the total eclipse will be from 2:16 a.m. to 3:41 a.m. The second phase of the partial eclipse will then be visible until 5:56 a.m.
This video shows the times for the Pacific time zone. In Eastern Canada, the Moon will set during total eclipse. Credit: NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio - see this website for the animations for other time zones.
To get the exact times for your location, you can use timeanddate.com or simply convert from the video above to your time zone, by adding or subtracting hours.
Is it dangerous to observe a lunar eclipse?
Since we're looking at the Moon, observation is completely safe.
It is dangerous to observe the Sun, including during a solar eclipse, but the Moon is always safe.
A challenge to observe, but still a good opportunity for education!
Even though it might be difficult for students to observe this eclipse, we think it can make a great addition to your astronomy lessons. Don't hesitate to talk about this phenomenon in class and share the information with parents, who might be excited to get up with their kids to catch a full lunar eclipse!
Here are some resources to help you bring eclipses in to your classroom:
Explanatory video on eclipses, created for one of our workshops
NASA eclipse animations for the March 3, 2026 eclipse
Questions to investigate with your students:
Why do lunar eclipses only happen at full moon?
Why don't we have eclipses every month?
What's the difference between a lunar eclipse and a solar eclipse?
When is the next eclipse visible from your location?
You'll find answers to these questions in the Google Slides and video links above.
