Hawke's Bay can expect little more than a meteorological blip as temperatures drop for a few days after some of the hottest nights of the year and a perfect night for one of the rarest galactic events.
Star of the show was Friday night's full-red moon and near-total lunar eclipse, the longest partial lunar eclipse fully visible from New Zealand in more than 800 years.
It was perfection for Hawke's Bay Today photographer Paul Taylor who, conceding he wasn't around for the last, has photographed "a few" similar events over the years, and rated the latest as "the best".
![The moon as the eclipse began. Photo / Paul Taylor](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/MOT77V2P4ID3Q6CNUJO2DHVLR4.jpg?auth=a34b21a72f4ccd925bda24f49b715f6d714301d7b499c9e777f8b744e09e952d&width=16&height=11&quality=70&smart=true)
![The eclipse starts to take over. Photo / Paul Taylor](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/LVQOJD7A72DHIWD5AJK7BOAZCI.jpg?auth=3f26c5505e9f5a44c8d5aa44f8b5e9e4b91b99205351df2e9c4c07916d18fd6f&width=16&height=11&quality=70&smart=true)