Rare blood moon wows Aussie skywatchers
A total lunar eclipse has lit up Australian skies overnight with the moon turning bright red for nearly an hour.
Australia’s skywatchers have witnessed a rare blood moon as the night sky took on an eerie red hue.
A total lunar eclipse was visible across the country on Tuesday night except for rain-affected regions, as astronomers and other interested Australians with clear skies were able to see the moon appear rust-coloured.
Blood moons occur every 18 months to three years, and the phenomena is not expected to appear again anywhere in the world until 2029.
The eclipse was particularly visible in the clear skies above Brisbane, where the alignment happened for an hour at about 9pm.
A total eclipse refers to when the earth aligns perfectly between the sun and moon so that the moon passes into the earth’s shadow.
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The shadow is what causes the moon to appear red as sunlight from the earth is filtered on to the moon’s surface.
The more dust or clouds in the earth’s atmosphere during the eclipse, the redder the moon will appear, NASA says.
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While those who missed the blood moon might have to wait for a few years for another, there are plenty more astronomical marvels in store for southern sky-watchers this year.
The planets Mercury, Mars and Saturn will form a tight bunch in the eastern sky between April 19 and 22.
Later in the year, those willing to rise before dawn will have the chance to see the Geminid meteor shower, with the peak expected on December 15.
Finally, a “supermoon”, where a full moon occurs during the orbit’s closest point to earth, will light up the sky on Christmas Eve.
–with AAP
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