Pacific ‘Blood Moon’ wows stargazers

Pacific ‘Blood Moon’ wows stargazers

SYDNEY: Stargazers across the Pacific cast their eyes skyward yesterday to witness a rare "Super Blood Moon“, as the heavens aligned to bring a spectacular lunar eclipse. The first total lunar eclipse in two years took place at the same time as the Moon was closest to Earth, in what astronomers say is a once-in-a-decade show.

Anyone living between Australia and the central United States was able to see an enormous, bright, orangey-red Moon if the skies were clear. The main event took place between 1111 and 1125 GMT - late evening in Sydney and predawn in Los Angeles - when the Moon was entirely in the Earth's shadow.

The Moon darkened and turned red - a result of sunlight refracting off the Earth's rim onto the lunar surface - basking our satellite in a sunrise- or sunset-tinged glow. Unlike a solar eclipse, the phenomenon was safely visible to the naked eye. This eclipse was different because it happened during a "Super Moon“ when the Moon passes a mere 360,000 km from Earth. At that point, it can appear 30 percent brighter and 14 percent larger than at its farthest point - a difference of around 50,000 km.

In Sydney, where a crisp