Blood micromoon: The best times to see the rare near-total lunar eclipse | Stuff.co.nz
An unusually long near-total lunar eclipse early on Friday night looks set to be visible across much of the country.
The “blood micromoon” eclipse starts after sunset at 8.20pm, will reach its maximum at 10.04pm – when 97 per cent of the Moon’s face will be covered by the Earth’s shadow – and ends at 11.48pm.
Weather forecasters expect skies over much of the country will be clear, or have only limited amounts of cloud, during that time, except in the south of the South Island.
People watching the Moon will see the Earth’s shadow gradually start to cover the surface of the Moon shortly after it rises.
It’s expected the Moon will appear to have a reddish hue for a brief time, once the vast majority of the Moon’s surface is in shadow, which will peak just after 10pm.
An unusually long near-total lunar eclipse early on Friday night looks set to be visible across much of the country.
The “blood micromoon” eclipse starts after sunset at 8.20pm, will reach its maximum at 10.04pm – when 97 per cent of the Moon’s face will be covered by the Earth’s shadow – and ends at 11.48pm.
Weather forecasters expect skies over much of the country will be clear, or have only limited amounts of cloud, during that time, except in the south of the South Island.
People watching the Moon will see the Earth’s shadow gradually start to cover the surface of the Moon shortly after it rises.
It’s expected the Moon will appear to have a reddish hue for a brief time, once the vast majority of the Moon’s surface is in shadow, which will peak just after 10pm.
