The Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse In 600 Years Will Be Visible Tonight

People with a clear sky tonight will be gifted with the longest partial lunar eclipse in nearly 600 years.

The rare flower moon will be nearly perfect as 97 per cent of the celestial object will be consumed by the shadow.

Our moon will be bathed in a beautiful red colour during the cosmic moment where the sun, moon and our earth align.

What's even more incredible is that this partial lunar eclipse will be the longest since the 15th century.

Depending on where you live, you will either see part of or just the end of the partial eclipse.

It will be visible for nearly everyone in Australia and people who live in the Pacific, east Asia, and North and South America will witness the event all at the same time.

It will kick off at 6:18 AEDT and is expected to last nearly three and a half hours.

But be warned, the eclipse will likely begin before the moon has risen above earth's horizon in Australia, so don't panic if you can't see it.

This event happens when our earth passes directly in between the sun and the moon, which casts a shadow on our closest celestial object and paints it with a reddish hue.

Astronomer Tanya Hill from the Melbourne Planetarium told the ABC: "Some people may begin to perceive it as a pinkish moon, but it definitely won't be that kind of deep red that we see in totality.

"Because we've got that moonrise and sunset issue, [what it looks like is] going to be absolutely dependent on your location if you want to know the precise timing."

People in Sydney will be able to start watching it from 7:34pm, with the peak to happen at 8:02pm and it will finish around 11:03pm.

In Melbourne, it starts at 8:09pm, will peak at 8:12pm and finish the same time as Sydney.

Brisbane viewers can expect it to start at 6:14pm, see the peak of it at 7:02pm and it will finish at 10:03pm.

Adelaide will be a little later at 7:59pm, then the maximum will clock in at 8:11pm and then it will finish at 10:33pm.

Sadly for those in Perth, they won't be able to see it until 6:57pm, with the peak coming three minutes later and then it will finish at 8:03pm.

Featured Image Credit: NiKreative/Alamy Live News

Topics: News, Australia

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

@stewartperrie