The spectacular blood supermoon over Russell, in the Bay of Islands. Photo / www.baylight.co.nz
The spectacular blood supermoon over Russell, in the Bay of Islands. Photo / www.baylight.co.nz
Thousands of Northlanders stayed up late on Wednesday to try to catch a glimpse of a rare phenomenon, a blood supermoon.
And while the clouds didn't clear over much of Northland for the event, many were lucky that the cloud cover abated enough to get a spectacular look - and for many a good photograph - of the red moon.
Stargazers nationwide are still buzzing about the spectacular blood supermoon event they were treated to overnight, but cloud over parts of Northland at the crucial time prevented many from getting a good view.
One who did was Alwyn Poole, from Russell, who captured some stunning images of the event along with others at her home that evening.
''[It was] nice to celebrate a beautiful event with a three course meal and good company."
The night sky provided perfect conditions for those who stayed up late to catch the once-in-a-lifetime event, with many capturing the different stages of the Moon in photos.
The Moon was entirely within the Earth's shadow for about 15 minutes from 11.11pm, creating the red glow on the Moon's surface.
The force was strong in this one - the blood supermoon caught over Russell. Photo / www.baylight.co.nz
Several factors, including the close proximity of the Earth and Moon, added to the occasion.
We can think of it as the combination of two lunar spectacles.
Blood moons - also known as total lunar eclipses - occur when the Earth lines up between the Moon and the Sun.
This hides the Moon from sunlight and blocks most of the blue light, with the remaining light refracting onto the Moon's surface and causing a red glow.
"Red light is often seen during sunset because we view it through the thicker parts of Earth's atmosphere, and being of a longer wavelength, more red light gets through," Stardome Observatory expert John Rowe said.
"When the Moon goes into Earth's shadow, the reddish light passing through Earth's atmosphere around the limb of Earth refracts onto the Moon, creating a blood-red colour across the lunar surface.
"Unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses are completely fine to view with the naked eye."
A "supermoon", meanwhile, occurs when the Moon is at the closest point in its orbit around Earth - making it appear about 14 per cent larger than a normal full Moon and around 30 per cent brighter.
The blood supermoon nears its peak above Russell. Photo / www.baylight.co.nz
How rare is it?
During every 27-day orbit around Earth, the Moon reaches both its perigee, about 363,300km from Earth, and its farthest point, or apogee, about 405,500km from Earth.
Total lunar eclipses are relatively common - the next one is June 15-16, although it won't be visible from New Zealand.
Supermoons are more common still - one was visible only a month ago.
There are also two super new moons - or when a new moon is at its closest point to Earth - on November 4 and December 5.
But it's the combination of a total lunar eclipse and a supermoon that's rare.
The eclipse takes place just a few hours after the Moon reaches perigee, the closest point to Earth on its orbit, making it a "Super Flower Blood Moon".
Stardome has reported the last "blood supermoon" visible from New Zealand was December, 1982.
