Image Credit: CFJC News

By Curtis Goodrum

Lunar Eclipse

Lunar eclipse will deliver blood-red moon over Kamloops, North America Thursday night

Mar 13, 2025 | 5:29 PM

KAMLOOPS — North America will see a lunar eclipse around 11:30 p.m. Thursday (March 13). The eclipse will create a dim, red moon that should appear fully eclipsed in Kamloops and the rest of the B.C. Interior.

Lunar eclipses are astronomical events that happen two to three times a year.

“The sun is over here and as it shines towards the Earth, it will cast a shadow,” Abedin Abedin, physics and astronomy instructor at TRU, explained to CFJC Today. “As the moon passes through that shadow, we will see the lunar eclipse. Basically, the light from the moon will significantly diminish.”

Unlike the solar eclipse, the lunar eclipse can last multiple hours and create what many call a ‘blood moon.’

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“As soon as it enters the umbra or the full shadow of the Earth, its brightness will significantly decrease and the colour will turn slightly red. The intensity of the colour and how red it will appear depends on the particulate content of our atmosphere,” said Abedin.

The event makes for an exciting event for local stargazers, who will have the opportunity to head to the Observatory at TRU to check out the eclipse, as well.

“Lunar eclipses aren’t generally as exciting as solar eclipses just because they’re more common. However, this particular lunar eclipse is the first lunar eclipse that we’ve had in over two years. Usually, there are one or two a year. Due to the randomness of it, we have had a couple of years where we haven’t had a lunar eclipse,” said Paul Hembling, skywatcher and principal at Kamloops Open Online Learning.

If weather permits, the event will be visible from Kamloops and the rest of the B.C. Interior.

However, there will be another lunar eclipse in September, if cloud cover means residents are unable to witness this eclipse.