Lunar eclipse 2022: Spectacular ‘Blood moon’ happens for the last time in years - as it happened
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Your support makes all the difference.The world is about to see a total lunar eclipse, or blood moon, for the last time in years.
There won’t be another opportunity to see the celestial event until 2025.
A total lunar eclipse happens when the Earth slots in exactly between the Moon and the Sun, hiding the two from each other. It means that light must travel through Earth’s atmosphere on the way to the Moon, which turns it red as it does.
The event will begin around 3am eastern time, and will peak in a total eclipse around three hours later, before ending another three hours after that. It will be visible across eastern Asia, Australia, the Pacific and North America.
Lunar eclipses typically happen about every year-and-a-half. But the schedule this time means that there won’t be another chance to see a blood moon for longer than that: the next will appear on 14 March, 2025.
Pictures of the red ‘blood’ moon start to arrive
Pictures of the lunar eclipse are starting to flow in. Most of these are clearly just from people’s phones, and no doubt we’ll get some more spectacular and clear-looking ones later. But here’s a taster:
Some people are having a bit of trouble, however, thanks to the clouds.
Eclipse glows red above Melbourne
Here are some pictures from Williamstown in Melbourne, where the “blood moon” looks suitably spectacular and/or terrifying, depending on your persuasion.
Australian surfers paddle beneath glowing red moon
And here’s another from Australia, at Manly Beach in Sydney.
South Koreans gather for better view of eclipse
In Goyang, northwest of Seoul, people used advanced equipment to get a good look at the reddening Moon:
The total lunar eclipse is over
The Earth, Moon and Sun have moved out of arrangement and the total lunar eclipse is now over.
If you’ve missed it, don’t despair: it’s still partial for a while, so you can get some of the experience. And if not then there are plenty of photos and videos to enjoy.
Partial lunar eclipse ends
The partial lunar eclipse is now over, too.
For the next hour, there is a penumbral eclipse. That happens when the faint outer shadow of the Earth appears on the Moon – but it’s easy to miss, because most of the lunar surface is lit by sunlight.
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