There's a rare partial 'blood moon' eclipse early Friday morning

A PARTIAL LUNAR eclipse is happening from around 4am to just after 6am Friday morning.

This event is known as a ‘Blood Moon’ because the shadow of the Earth gives it a dull red coppery glow.

The peak of the eclipse will occur around 5.12am when only a small sliver of the moon will remain.

Unfortunately the night is forecast to be wet and cloudy. Met Éireann has said outbreaks of rain will continue over much of the south, east and midlands, with drier conditions in the west and northwest.

However, if you’re able to catch a glimpse of the eclipse, no protective glasses are needed as it’s safe to look directly at the moon, unlike the solar eclipse earlier this month.

Astronomy Ireland said tonight’s blood moon is the best lunar eclipse Ireland will see until New Year’s Eve 2028.

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The society said that at the peak of the eclipse, only around 3.5% of the moon will be visible.

“Even this sliver is only faintly lit up by the Sun due to the nature of a lunar eclipse, meaning this eclipse is almost as good as a total lunar eclipse like the next one visible from Ireland 31 December 2028,” it said in a statement. 

David Moore, Editor of Astronomy Ireland magazine said: “The lower part of the Moon will be in deep eclipse from before 5am and should look the reddish colour that total lunar eclipses are known for.”

“I’ve seen dozens of eclipses and no two lunar eclipses are the same as the Earth’s shadow is filled by light filtering around the Earth from all of the planet’s sunrises and all of its sunsets,” he added.

He said that as well as coppery and blood reds you can often see other colours, from blues to yellows.

Moore recommended using binoculars for a closer view.

He also said not to be deterred by the weather. He added: “You only need a tiny break in any clouds to see it. I’ve seen eclipses in the rain, and in almost 100% cloud cover.”