At the end of the month, we’ll enter the final phase of the Montreal summer: it’s just a tiny bit cooler, the kids are heading back to school, and the corn and sunflowers paint Quebec green and gold. It’s also the most pleasant time—we’re softened by the heat and relaxed by the sun’s rays.
In this late-summer atmosphere, the moon will disappear for one night, between August 27 and 28, 2026, during a 93% partial eclipse. If possible, we’d love to be camping, telling stories around the campfire, when it happens.
PARTIAL ECLIPSE AND BLACK MOON
A lunar eclipse is a rather unsettling astronomical phenomenon (the moon vanishing from the sky, which is already quite dark at night) but a very simple one. Sometimes, the Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon, and without light, the Moon disappears into the shadow.
This alignment is rare, and this time the Moon will be only 93% in shadow. The night won’t be all that dark—a very thin crescent of the Moon will remain visible throughout the six hours of the partial eclipse.
ECLIPSE SCHEDULE (via Espace pour la Vie)
- 9:23 p.m.: Start of the partial eclipse (the Moon enters the penumbra)
- 10:33 p.m.: Start of the eclipse caused by the Earth’s shadow
- 12:12 a.m.: Maximum of the eclipse (the Moon at the peak of the shadow), with 93% of its diameter covered by the Earth’s shadow
- 1:51 a.m.: The Moon is about to emerge from the Earth’s shadow
- 3:01 a.m.: end of the eclipse
This will be the last lunar eclipse of 2026—and the next partial lunar eclipse will be in January 2028.
WATCHING AND PHOTOGRAPHING THE ECLIPSE
You can observe this eclipse with the naked eye, and Espace pour la Vie also has tips for photographing it with a film or digital camera;
- Set your camera’s ISO to 400 and the aperture to f/8.
- Set your zoom to maximum: a focal length between 300 and 500 mm is ideal.
- During the partial phases, vary your shutter speeds between 1/500th and 1/60th of a second.
- As the eclipse reaches its peak, vary the exposure time between 1 and 15 seconds. A tripod is required for slower shutter speeds.
In Montreal, there’s a lot of light pollution, so to see the blood moon, we’ll have to find the spots where the sky is clearest… We have three such spots here;
- Bellevue Observatory
- Outremont Lookout
- Botanical Garden and Planetarium
