Blood moon lunar eclipse: Stunning photos captured across New Zealand

· RNZ
Sandy Brinsdon took this glowing shot from Christchurch.Photo: Supplied/ TheAfterWorkPhotographer/ Sandy Brinsdon

Astronomy fans and photographers were treated to a rare blood moon lunar eclipse on Friday night, with many breaking out their tripod and lenses to try to capture the sight.

A lunar eclipse is when the Sun, Earth and Moon are lined up so that the Earth is directly between the Sun and the Moon, blocking the sun's light from the Moon and creating a shadow, which creates a fiery orange hue.

Totality - when the entire Moon is in shadow behind the Earth - was between about 8pm and 8:30pm on Friday (NZT), and was when the Moon appeared the most intense red.

Many of those wanting to catch the sight from Aotearoa had to contend with overcast skies, waiting for gaps in the clouds.

Visiting researcher Dr Lijuan Yuan captured this photo of the blood moon over Dunedin.Photo: Supplied/ Lijuan Yuan

NASA explained why the red tint happens: "Toward the middle of the Moon's track through the sky, it appears red - this is the blood moon. One meaning of a 'blood moon' is based on its red glow.

"This blood moon occurs during a total lunar eclipse. During a total lunar eclipse, Earth lines up between the Moon and the Sun, hiding the Moon from sunlight. When this happens, the only light that reaches the Moon's surface is from the edges of the Earth's atmosphere.

"The air molecules from Earth's atmosphere scatter out most of the blue light. The remaining light reflects onto the Moon's surface with a red glow, making the Moon appear red in the night sky."

The phases of the eclipse can be seen in this time-lapse image of the Moon above the a NASA Research Centre in Ohio.Photo: NASA/ GRC/ Sara Lowthian-Hanna

RNZ readers sent in photos of what they saw and snapped:

Richard Somerville captured an intensely orange and detailed view.Photo: Supplied/ Richard Somerville
RNZ reporter Lucy Xia went up One Tree Hill to check out the lunar eclipse, and came across Bobby Tao taking these beautiful pictures of the eclipse through a telescope brought up by Stardome.Photo: Supplied/ Bobby Tao
Photo: Supplied/ Bobby Tao
Many people who wanted to watch the eclipse had to patiently wait for the perfect shot between the clouds.Photo: Supplied/ Russell Malthus
But the gaps of clear sky were worth it.Photo: Supplied/ Russell Malthus
Photo: Supplied/ Lucus Zeng
Jessica Le Bas captured this photo of the blood moon on Friday, from the cliffs at Ruby Bay, Tasman.Photo: Supplied/ Jessica Le Bas
From Cockle Bay, Howick.Photo: Supplied/ Michael Sanders
Photo: Supplied/ Bobby Tao

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