This full moon (and eclipse) also happens to fall nine hours after the Moon has reached its closest point to Earth this month (357,311 kilometres away), so it is a supermoon. Will the eclipse look extra big because it's a supermoon?Īlthough the Moon can look full for a couple of days, in astronomical terms a full Moon happens at a very specific point in time, wherever you are in the world. "I would expect it's going to have a reddish tinge, but that may be a gradient across the Moon as well," Dr Jacob said. "When is closest to us, it is moving at its fastest speed ," Dr Jacob explained.Īnd, although we like to call eclipses "blood red moons", this one is probably going to be more of a russet moon because it's passing through the outer edges of Earth's shadow. moving through the very edge of the shadow," Dr Jacob said.Īnd the Moon will spend less time in the shadow because it's travelling slightly faster than average. That's relatively short in total eclipse terms (but not the shortest this century). The total eclipse phase will only last about 14 minutes. This eclipse takes about three hours to complete, from the time the edge of the Moon starts passing through the umbra until the end.īut you have to get your timing right to see the Moon at its reddest. "Due to the light of the sky and the bright light of twilight, people in WA pretty much miss the penumbral phase ," Dr Jacob said. The penumbral eclipse won't be visible from Western Australia, because the Moon is already passing through the umbra as it rises above the horizon. Moon aficionados in the eastern states may also be able to see faint traces of the penumbral eclipse - as the Moon glides through the outer shadow of the Earth, before the umbral eclipse begins. The Moon there will look super big thanks to a visual trick - known as the moon illusion - which alters your perspective of its size when it's close to the horizon.Īnd its red colour will likely be enhanced by dust in the atmosphere, much like the colours in a sunset. "If you were looking for a photographic moment or best experience of a moonrise, then perhaps Perth is getting the best of it," Dr Jacob said. Over in the west of the continent, the Moon will be changing colour as soon it rises above the horizon, just after sunset from 5.44pm Perth time. "We're expecting it will rise from the area above the Opera House, so we'll see if we can get some shots of that," he said.
įrom his vantage point at Sydney Observatory, Dr Jacob will get an iconic view of the Moon changing colour high up in the easterly night sky, from 7.44pm Sydney time. What will the eclipse look like?Īstronomer Andrew Jacob said the lunar eclipse should look beautiful, no matter if you are in the east or the west of the country. This can be seen in a partial eclipse, when some part of the Moon has moved into the shadow, but it is more prominent during a total eclipse, when all of the Moon has moved into the umbra. When the Moon moves through the deepest part of the Earth's shadow (the umbra), it takes on a distinctive red glow - an effect caused by the bending of light in Earth's atmosphere. Just what the eclipse looks like and how long it lasts depends on which part of the shadow the Moon glides through and how fast the Moon is moving. It doesn't happen every full moon - only when the Moon's orbit is aligned so it passes through some part of Earth's shadow. It occurs when the Moon is directly opposite the Sun – aka full Moon. Partial eclipse ends: 8:52pm What's a lunar eclipse?
The eclipse will be visible from Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific, South-East Asia and parts of North and South America at the same time.īut not all of those locations will see the whole eclipse, and some parts of the world won't see it at all. The best time to see the lunar eclipse will be 9:18pm AEST, when the eclipse is at its peak. It will begin at 7:44pm AEST and end at 10:52pm AEST. The eclipse happens at exactly the same moment wherever you live. What's the best time to see the lunar eclipse tonight?
The heavens are lining up in the first total lunar eclipse to be seen across Australia since July 2018.Īnd this lunar eclipse also just happens to occur shortly after the Moon is closest to Earth (perigee), so that makes it a blood red "supermoon" (or a perigee-syzygy eclipse, if you want to use the astronomical term).Īll Australians will have the chance to see the most spectacular parts of the eclipse. There's a big red moon on the rise right across Australia, so grab your cameras and head outside if the weather is clear.