Stargazers marvel at super blood moon across Australia
Australians were treated to a super blood moon, with pictures showing the rare occurrence in major cities like Sydney and Brisbane.
Stunning pictures show the super blood moon over Australia on Wednesday night, with photographers capturing the rare lunar occurrence.
It was similar to the pink super moon in April, although deep red in appearance.
The event featured both a super moon – when a full moon reaches the closest point to Earth in its orbit – and a blood moon, which is caused by a total lunar eclipse.
A lunar eclipse takes place when the moon moves into earth’s shadow. Earth has to be directly between the sun and the moon, and a lunar eclipse can only take place during a full moon.
The super blood moon rose over the country just before 8pm and dazzled stargazers for three hours.
However, the total eclipse phase only lasted about 14 minutes.
Australians had the chance to see the most spectacular parts of the super blood moon, including surfers at Manly Beach who rode the waves beneath it.
NCA NewsWire’s Dan Peled captured some incredible pictures from Mount Coot-tha in Brisbane that formed a composite image showing the stages of the eclipse.
In Canberra, incredible pictures show the super blood moon rising over parliament before settling into the night sky.
The glowing moon was also photographed rising over The Sydney Opera House in Sydney.
However, Perth was gifted the best view of the super blood moon, according to astronomer Andrew Jacob.
“If you were looking for a photographic moment or best experience of a moonrise, then perhaps Perth (got) the best of it,” Dr Jacob said.
The moon in Perth appeared larger due to the moon illusion, which alters perspective of its size when it's close to the horizon.
Its red colour was enhanced by dust in the atmosphere.
Here’s a look at some of the best photos posted to social media of Wednesday night’s event:
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