Blood moon lunar eclipse stuns Sydney
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Amateur astronomers have been treated to a blushing moon over the Australian sky during the last total lunar eclipse until 2025.
The solar eclipse began at 8:09 p.m. AEDT as the moon entered Earth’s shadow before an 85-minute total eclipse began at approximately 9:16 p.m.
The red hue is caused by the little bit of sunlight that skims around the Earth’s atmosphere and in the part of space that is shaded by the sun.
The solar eclipse began at 8:09 p.m. AEDT as the moon entered Earth’s shadow before an 85-minute total eclipse began at 9:16 p.m.
Tuesday’s ‘blood moon’ as seen from Melbourne showing the partial phase (left) and then the full eclipse (right) showing the spectacular color
“Just as sunrise and sunset are orange or reddish, so is this light that skims through Earth’s atmosphere into space,” said astrophysicist Brad Tucker of the Australian National University.
While parts or all of Australia will be in position for a handful of penumbral or partial lunar eclipses in the next two years, the next total lunar eclipse will not occur until March 2025.
Western Australia will experience a total lunar eclipse in September 2025, while the east coast will not experience a total lunar eclipse until March 2026.
Preparations are underway in Exmouth for a rare total lunar eclipse that will take place in April 2023.
The full moon rises at Manly Beach ahead of a total lunar eclipse in Sydney on Tuesday (pictured)
A child plays with an umbrella against the rising full moon on Tuesday ahead of a total lunar eclipse in Stanwell Park, south of Sydney.
The “blood moon” occurs when the sun, Earth, and moon align, putting the moon in Earth’s shadow.
When the moon is completely covered, it turns a deep red – which is why the term was coined.
On the east coast, viewers in Sydney could catch a glimpse as of 8:09 p.m., with the total eclipse starting at 9:16 p.m., while in Queensland it was an hour earlier.
In South Australia the spectacle started at 7:43 pm, in the NT at 6:42 pm and on the west coast at 6:43 pm.
The spectacle takes place when the sun, earth and moon align, bringing the moon into the shadow of the earth. When the moon is completely covered, it turns a deep red, hence the term
Astronomer of the Melbourne Planetarium, Dr. Tanya Hill, told the ABC this Tuesday would be a long lunar eclipse and the last until 2025.
“I like lunar eclipses because they happen at the same time for everyone, it’s just the time zone that changes things,” said Dr. Hill.
“We would have to go out to see this total lunar eclipse because we won’t see another one in Australia until September 8, 2025.”
A “blood moon” eclipse occurs in three phases: penumbral, partial and total.
Penumbral phase
The penumbral phase is the beginning of the solar eclipse and is barely visible to the naked eye.
In this phase, the moon passes through the outer shadow of the Earth.
The second penumbral phase is after the total solar eclipse when the moon moves back into the Earth’s outer shadow.
Part phase
The partial phase occurs when the Moon crosses the edge of the planet’s central shadow.
In this phase, Earth’s shadow moves slowly across the moon’s face, blocking the brightly lit center, leaving only a thin glowing outer swath of the moon’s rim visible.
The spectacle seen Tuesday night from Victoria is the only one off the east coast until 2025
The partial phase continues to the point where the outer strip completely disappears and the moon is in the full shadow of the Earth, the beginning of the final phase.
The second partial phase begins when a bright light begins to reappear at the edge of the moon as it begins to emerge from Earth’s shadow again.
Total phase
The total phase is when the moon is completely in the shadow of the earth.
It is at this stage when the moon will have the deepest red ‘blood’ color.