A rare blood moon event that may not occur for another three years is set to light up the Australian skies this week.
Love a bit of night sky phenomena, especially the rare kind that only comes around every other year or so. The Earth’s moon is set to turn blood red on Tuesday night – and it may be the last time you can view this particular phenomenon for another three years.
Astrologers have predicted a blood moon will occur on November 8th and be visible in the night skies across the country. The whole of this total lunar eclipse will be visible from all of New Zealand and Australia.
A blood moon occurs when the sun, Earth and moon align in a perfect way, causing the moon to pass into the planet’s shadow. On average there is an eclipse of the Moon every eight months, with a little under half of these total. The actual number of lunar eclipses in a year can range from none to a maximum of three. A total eclipse of the Moon is visible from Australia on average every 2.8 years.
The Moon will appear red during totality because red light from the Sun is bent by the Earth’s atmosphere. The light is red as other colours such as blue are scattered in all directions, just the same as at sunset. Whether the Moon will go red and how dark it will appear during an eclipse largely depends on atmospheric conditions at the time.
Here’s how and when you can view Tuesday night’s, Blood Moon.
Blood Moon viewing times for Tuesday November 8th, 2022 for all Australian States:
ACT/NSW/VIC/TAS
Starts at 8.09, ends at 11.49. Total eclipse (when fully red) will last from 9.16 – 10.41.
QLD
Starts at 7.09, ends at 10.49. Total eclipse (when fully red) will last from 8.16 – 9.41.
SA
Starts at 7.43, ends at 11.19. Total eclipse (when fully red) will last from 8:46 – 10.11.
NT
Starts at 6.42, ends at 10.19. Total eclipse (when fully red) will last from 7:46 – 9.11.
WA
Starts at 6.43, ends at 8.49. Total eclipse (when fully red) will last from 6.43 – 7.41.
