Blood moon lunar eclipse: Stunning photos captured across New Zealand

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.

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."

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

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.