With the total lunar eclipse – marking the moon’s movement through the earth’s shadow, blocking the sun’s rays from hitting it – coinciding with the winter solstice for the first time in over 300 years, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is commemorating the event by showing it ‘live’ in Southwest British Columbia, including Vancouver.

Going by the weather forecasts about the rare coincidence of total lunar eclipse and winter solstice, Vancouver will be under cloud when the eclipse takes place at 10:33 p. m.

December’s lunar eclipse is rare because its occurrence on the same day as the winter solstice – the shortest day of the year – marks only the second time in the past almost 2,000 years. As per NASA records, the last time a similar incident took place was way back in 1638.

Noting that the total lunar eclipse will be visible from Calgary, the Calgary Science Centre’s Devon Hamilton said: “Because of all the dust, because of all the volcanic eruptions that happened earlier this year, we are expecting to see a much browner and redder colour than we normally do during lunar eclipses.”

According to astrologer and astronomer Deanna Giesbrecht, who has been making predictions based on celestial events for the last 35 years, the total lunar eclipse will be “a harbinger of change in Calgary” in terms of how the outside world views it; and will bring in “new energy: into Calgary.