Longest Near-total Lunar Eclipse In Aotearoa In Over 800 Years

Total lunar eclipse (blood supermoon) that occurred on 26th May this year. It is a good reflection of how Friday’s near total lunar eclipse will look at its peak. Image credit: Josh Kirkley, Stardome.

The Moon will turn red this week in a near-total lunar eclipse - and it will be the longest partial lunar eclipse that is fully visible from Aotearoa in more than 800 years.

On the night of November 19, the Moon's face will be 97% covered by the deepest part of the Earth's shadow, turning the lunar surface briefly red.

The near-total eclipse will take place over three hours and 28 minutes in our night sky making it the longest partial lunar eclipse in Aotearoa since the year 1212.

“This partial lunar eclipse is unusually long because it’s near total and it’s near apogee, which means the Moon is furthest from Earth in its orbit, which is known as a micromoon,” says Stardome’s astronomer Rob Davison.

“So the Moon travels close to the centre of Earth’s shadow and will stay there for longer than average.

“Most of the eclipse will be dominated by the shadow moving across the Moon, with a brief period where it will appear as a blood micromoon in our night sky.”

Weather permitting, sky gazers will see the near-total eclipse begin very soon after moonrise at around 8pm. They'll then see Earth’s shadow gradually cover the surface of the Moon as it rises higher in the sky.

The red colour will be visible once the vast majority of the surface is in shadow, which will peak just after 10pm. The shadow will then gradually recede until the partial phase ends shortly before midnight.

Rob says the Moon will also be only a few degrees away from Matariki in the sky, and they will rise at a very similar time.

HOW TO VIEW THE BLOOD MICROMOON

For those who don’t want to step outside, NASA will have a livestream of the lunar eclipse.

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