'Blood micromoon': NZ sky set to turn red for longest near-total lunar eclipse in 800 years
Wednesday, 17 November 2021
A rare near-total lunar eclipse will be visible this week and will turn the Moon red.
According to Auckland’s Stardome Observatory, Friday’s event will be the longest partial lunar eclipse fully visible from Aotearoa in more than 800 years.
On Friday November 19, the Moon's face will be 97 per cent covered by the deepest part of the Earth's shadow, turning the lunar surface briefly red.
In May, a spectacular rare blood supermoon stunned stargazers. This was a total lunar eclipse which occurred at the same time as a supermoon.
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The near-total eclipse that will take place on Friday is expected to last for three hours and 28 minutes, making it the longest partial lunar eclipse in Aotearoa since the year 1212, a statement from Stardome said.
“This partial lunar eclipse is unusually long because it’s near total and it’s near apogee, which means the Moon is furthest from Earth in its orbit, which is known as a micromoon,” astronomer Rob Davison said.
“So the Moon travels close to the centre of Earth’s shadow and will stay there for longer than average.
“Most of the eclipse will be dominated by the shadow moving across the Moon, with a brief period where it will appear as a blood micromoon in our night sky.”
Weather permitting, sky gazers will see the near-total eclipse begin very soon after moonrise at around 8pm. They'll then see Earth’s shadow gradually cover the surface of the Moon as it rises higher in the sky, he said.
The red colour will be visible once the vast majority of the surface is in shadow, which will peak just after 10pm. The shadow will then gradually recede until the partial phase ends shortly before midnight, he said.
Davison said the Moon will also be only a few degrees away from Matariki in the sky, and they will rise at a very similar time.
Nasa will also have a livestream of the lunar eclipse available for people to watch.