New Zealand turns to the sky to witness a rare blood moon

New Zealand astronomers wake up and look up at the sky for a unique glimpse of the "blood moon".

People from all over the country – weather permitting – be able to see a rare celestial event called a selenelion this morning.

This occurs when an eclipsed moon can be seen on one horizon, while the rising sun can be observed on the other.

During the total eclipse – which begins at 7:30 am New Zealand time when the sun rises – the moon was a lot paler than it usually appeared, and was colored between dark brown and blood red

To witness this, Dr. Duncan Steel of the Space Technology Center of Otago clearly says clear skies are needed.

"You must be in a place with a view to where the moon will set in the west-southwest and also where the sun will rise in the east-north-east ", He said

The lunar eclipse of Gisborne, New Zealand. 🙂 photo to use my phone and my telescope. #lunareclipse # lunareclipse2018 [19659009] # New Zealand #astronomy pic.twitter.com/aommNypM42

– Becca ?? (@Timaeus_NZ) July 27, 2018 [19659013] The MetService radar shows rain this morning in Auckland, along the west coast of New Zealand and Invercargill in the extreme south, but the good weather in much of the rest of the country

"The higher you are, the better Is, because the sun will barely clear the horizon as the moon sets in the opposite direction. "

are with Otago and Southland favored because the event of the will be longer.

Taken at 6:30 in Aucckland. Photo / Cathy Casey

In Auckland, the eclipse will be still partial because the moon has disappeared under the horizon.

For those in the Whanganui regions of Wellington, there was just a slim chance to glimpse the total- the moon eclipsed as the sun cast a glance over the moon. ;horizon.

In Invercargill, there was five minutes between sunrise at 8.12am and moonset shortly thereafter, with the moon entirely in the shadow of the Earth

In Dunedin, the interval was reduced four minutes; in Christchurch, three minutes

Steel is it rare to be able to see a "blood moon".

Blood Moon at Careys Bay, NZ. I stood at the back door to witness the passage of the sun and the moon before the two slipped under the hill. pic.twitter.com/6doHelifyM

– rob allan (@ allanrob9) 27 July 2018

"While there is a visible lunar eclipse of New Zealand every two years On average, being located in the right place to see a celestial peculiarity as a selenelion is much less common, and very few people have seen one. "

The coloring of the moon – a spectacle wrapped in the l & # 39; old superstition – was due to a solar light leak through the Earth.

Red light had a better chance of doing it for the same reason that the sky was blue – shorter wavelengths were dispersed more efficiently by the molecules in our atmosphere. "

WOW, this lunar eclipse This morning was amazing, here she is planting Wind Turbine at @Wellington_NZ Hundreds of people on Mount Vic where I was watching the eclipse. #LunarEclipseLive # lunareclipse2018 [19659033] pic.twitter.com/SdBQez2xNF [19659012] – Te Kawa Robb (@tekawa_robb) July 27, 2018

The first record of such an event dated 1666 – the same year of the Great Fire of London

The "moon of blood" this morning comes after another treat for astronomers during the night as the Earth aligned directly between Mars and the Sun in what the Astronomers called "the opposition" of Mars – something that takes place every two years.

This phenomenon was accompanied by the effect of Mars appearing larger in the night sky of the Earth

Images from around the world

The full moon rises above the ancient temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounio, about 65 kilometers (40 miles) south of Athens. Photo / AP

The moon is framed by the Colosseum in Rome. Photo / AP

The blood moon rising over Tel Aviv, Israel. Photo / AP