Total lunar eclipse over New Zealand tonight: Best time to watch

When and where to look for tonight’s blood moon

New Zealand will be one of the only places in the world to observe the entire duration of tonight’s lunar eclipse, Te Whatu Stardome astronomer Josh Aoraki told the Herald.

“It’s almost six hours in total, but the eclipse is going to start at about quarter to 10, but you’re not really going to notice much happening for the first couple hours,” he said.

While the best time to see the blood moon will be between midnight and 1am when the moon will be reddest, the effects of the eclipse will be visible much earlier.

“By about 11pm, you’ll start to notice the kind of visible redness take over the disc of the moon, and then by midnight it’s going to be completely within the Earth’s shadow.”

It will be visible just about anywhere in the country thanks to the moon’s height in the sky.

“You don’t need, like, a clear and unobstructed view or anything”, he said.

“Because it’s the moon, you can see it in the cities no matter what. Light pollution’s not really a factor, so basically anywhere is going to get a pretty decent view.”

Kiwis should keep an eye on the forecast for cloud this evening as they plan where to watch the astronomical event.

MetService meteorologist Devlin Lynden told the Herald tonight’s forecast is “looking like good news in general”.

“Most places should see clear skies this evening, making for great viewing of the lunar eclipse,” he said.

However, in other parts of the country, moisture pushing across the east will create cloud cover that might restrict the moon’s visibility.

“Those eastern places, so Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay, Wairarapa, Wellington and perhaps South Taranaki, as well as Whanganui, and also the Kaikōura Coast down to maybe about north of Christchurch, Hurunui area, we’re expecting them to remain pretty cloudy this evening.”

But there may still be breaks where Kiwis in these regions can get a glimpse.

“We always recommend just trying your luck even if it’s not looking too great”, Aoraki said.

“Even for areas that do have clouds, you only just need a quick break in the clouds to see it.”

What is a blood moon?

Aoraki said the striking celestial sight is “basically” light being broken up in the atmosphere.

As the Earth, sun, and moon slowly shift into near-perfect alignment, the moon will gradually appear red as the Earth blocks the sun and casts a shadow across its surface.

“If you imagine during a sunrise or a sunset, as sunlight is passing through the atmosphere, it has to go through more of it, so it gets split up into the red wavelengths and those actually get kind of refracted or bent around the Earth into the Earth’s shadow.”