Skygazers watch long blood moon eclipse this century

SKYGAZERS across Australia and the globe have turned out for the longest “blood moon” eclipse this century, which coincides with Mars’ closest approach in 15 years.

Unlike with a solar eclipse, viewers need no protective eye gear to observe the rare display.

“All you have to do is … go outside!”, the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) in London said, adding that binoculars will be useful to observe the phenomenon up close.

For about half the world, the moon will be partly or fully in Earth’s shadow for six hours and 14 minutes in all.

The moon started turning red about 4:30am AEST this morning.

The total eclipse started at about 5:25am AEST, lasting for one hour and 43 minutes, as the sun, Earth and moon aligned.

Mars appeared unusually large and bright, a mere 57.7 million kilometres from Earth on its elliptical orbit around the sun.

“It was really nice, a very clear eclipse,” Sydney Observatory curator Dr Andrew Jacob told AAP.

“The moon was a lot paler pink than I expected - a beautiful sight in the western sky.

“It was a nice long one, and as twilight came and the sky brightened up, the moon dropped into the clouds.”

ECLIPSE, BLOOD MOON EXPLAINED
A total lunar eclipse happens when Earth takes position in a straight line between the moon and sun, blotting out the direct sunlight that normally makes our satellite glow whitish-yellow.

The moon travels to a similar position every month, but the tilt of its orbit means it normally passes above or below the Earth’s shadow — so most months we have a full moon without an eclipse.

When the three celestial bodies are perfectly lined up, however, the Earth’s atmosphere scatters blue light from the sun while refracting or bending red light onto the moon, usually giving it a rosy blush.

This is what gives the phenomenon the name “blood moon”, though Mark Bailey of the Armagh Observatory in Northern Ireland said the colour can vary greatly.

The long duration of this eclipse is partly due to the fact that the moon will make a near-central passage through Earth’s umbra — the darkest, most central part of the shadow.

Our constant companion will also be at the farthest point on its orbit from Earth, making its movement across the sky slower from our perspective, thus spending longer in the dark.

NASA, meanwhile, has called out social media hoaxers claiming that Mars will appear as big as the moon during the eclipse.

“If that were true, we’d be in big trouble given the gravitational pulls on Earth, Mars, and our moon!” the NASA website states.