Blood moon eclipse: Cloud cover could obscure view for Northlanders

Northlanders could get a chance to see a rare blood moon in the skies on Friday, but clouds may obscure the view for some.

There’s a chance that clouds could obscure the view from Northland of a rare “blood moon” lunar eclipse on Friday night, but an expert says there could still be a good chance of seeing the event across the region.

A “blood moon” total lunar eclipse will appear in the skies above New Zealand on Friday, during which the full moon will slip into Earth’s shadow and turn a reddish colour. It will be seen by hundreds of millions of people around the globe and MetService says the weather conditions should be clear over most of the country to give outstanding views of the lunar phenomenon.

After a cold, southerly intrusion midweek, MetService is forecasting a return to widespread settled weather as high pressure moves in from the Tasman Sea.

“People with a clear view of the eastern horizon may catch a glimpse of a red moon rising this Friday evening, thanks to the total lunar eclipse,” MetService meteorologist Lewis Ferris said.

“A total lunar eclipse means the Earth is in the way of sunlight directly reaching the Moon. Our atmosphere causes the incoming sunlight to bend around the globe with red light directed toward the Moon.

“Most areas look to be cloud-free around the 7.45pm sunset on Friday but some cloud is forecast around East Cape and Northland. The maximum eclipse occurs just after moonrise here (around 8pm) – this means the Moon would be at its reddest, but also dimmest, as it comes above the horizon; spotting it against the relatively bright sky could be challenging. After 8.30pm the redness will mostly be gone.”

Northland Astronomical Society president Peter Felhofer said the forecast was a 90% chance of cloud cover across parts of Northland when the blood moon was visible from here, but that didn’t mean people would not see it.

“I once had an eclipse here with almost 100% cloud cover, but as I watched a small gap appeared in the clouds and through it, I saw the Moon,” Felhofer said.

He said the full lunar eclipse was due to be visible from sunset here about 7.40pm in the west, and it would be easy for people to find out where it was due to rise.

“Just look at where the sun goes down, then turn around 180 degrees and that’s exactly where the Moon will rise. You might have to wait 15 minutes or so (to see it in all its glory) but with a 90% chance of cloud, it might be a bit of luck of the draw.”

So, cross your fingers and if it’s cloudy, look for that hole in the clouds to the west.

Felhofer said Northland would miss the first two hours of the event, but it meant seeing the total eclipse from the moment it rises here.

“The maximum [eclipse] is set to be around 8pm, then it will start to fade, and the white parts will start to reappear on the Moon surface.”

He said blood moons occur twice a year, but, depending on the location on the planet, it would only be visible three out of every four times as the place would be in daylight when it happened on the other side of the world on one of those occasions.

Felhofer said one interesting aspect to watch for was as the Moon moved away, people would see something in the shadow the Earth casts on the Moon’s surface.

“That shadow will be curved because the Earth is round and not flat.”

He said the Northland Astronomical Society is opening its Planetarium North at Maunu on Friday night so people can watch the eclipse through its telescope.

The planetarium will be open from 7pm to 9pm on Friday at 1/500 State Highway 14, Maunu, and entry is by koha.