Rare blood moon eclipse underway

Sydney Observatory's Andrew Jacob illuminates the detail behind a lunar eclipse, why it glows red, and what to expect from this stellar show.

NASA explains the rare event of a Lunar Eclipse, where the full Moon darkens and glows red as it enters the Earth's shadow. Courtesy: NASAGoddard

Red, red moon ... a file picture taken in Manassas, Virginia, shows the moon during the peak of a total eclipse on December, 21, 2010. Picture: Karen Bleier Source: AFP

RELAX: the lunar god is not really angry with us, despite appearances to the contrary this week. The harvest will not be affected, and no virgins need be sacrificed to appease his terrible wrath.

The moon's orangey-red appearance this week is due to a syzygy — or a perfect alignment of three celestial bodies — of the sun, the Earth and the moon.

National Geographic explains that the moon's red colouring is due to sunlight passing through the Earth's atmosphere and refracting to the red end of the spectrum.

Lunar eclipses do not happen every month, because of the moon's tilted orbit around us. Their frequency varies widely: from one every few years to five in a year.

Tuesday night's eclipse will be the first in a tetrad, or series of four. Subsequent eclipses will occur on October 8 this year and April 8 and September 28 next year.

Watch the live stream below:

The shade of red that the moon turns cannot be forecast, and is largely dependent on the amount of dust circulating in Earth's atmosphere at the time of the eclipse.

The best time to see this week's blood moon — as it is called — is on Tuesday night, although Perth residents will miss it altogether due to their position.

A former blood moon ... amateur astronomer Doug Robertson took this photo from Hahndorf, South Australia, in January 2008. Source: Supplied

The Sydney Observatory recommends the following local times for best viewing:

Adelaide: Moon rises at 5.48pm; eclipse ends at 7.03pm

Brisbane: Moon rises at 5.27pm; eclipse ends at 7.33pm

Darwin: Moon rises at 6.41pm; eclipse ends at 7.33pm

Hobart: Moon rises at 5.33pm; eclipse ends at 7.33pm.

Melbourne: Moon rises at 5.49pm; eclipse ends at 7.33pm

Sydney: Moon rises at 5.28pm; eclipse ends at 7.33pm

Perth residents will unfortunately be unable to view the phenomenon

Astronomers advise looking low on the horizon and to the east to see the phenomenon.

Unlike solar eclipses, the lunar eclipse/blood moon phenomenon is perfectly safe to view and to photograph.

Blood moons have been believed to be omens for many different cultures throughout history, and this week's one is no different.

Wikipedia notes that American pastor Mark Blitz believes the second coming of Jesus Christ will coincide with the final eclipse in the current tetrad.

Another American pastor, John Hagee, believes the eclipse is a portent of significant changes for the world.

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