Owls up for lunar eclipse early Sunday

Night owls will have something to do overnight in the early hours of Sunday, if there's a clear sky, when a rare total lunar eclipse will be visible.

Beginning at 12.33am Sunday morning, by 3am the full moon will turn copper in colour as it aligns with the earth and sun, becoming completely obscured by the earth's shadow for about an hour.

Stardome astronomy educator, David Britten, says the moon appears copper because of sunlight scattering across it as it passes through the ring of the earth's atmosphere.

"You will need a clear eastern horizon to to be able to see this eclipse. Over water would be ideal and the further north you are the better," says Mr Britten. The last lunar eclipse that could be seen in New Zealand was a total eclipse in June but we could only see the first half of it before the moon set.

While the eclipse will be visible to the naked eye, astronomical societies around the country will also be hosting viewings. For Aucklanders, the Stardome Observatory and Planetarium is inviting the public to attend a special viewing from 12am to 6am for a gold coin donation. They're also showing screenings of Dark Side of the Moon to mark the event!

Outside it's likely a few cyclists and the volunteers helping with the TelstraClear Cycle Challenge will get to see it too - anyone leaving home in the early hours of the morning to head to that event will be treated to a celestial sight.

Next year two major celestial events will also be visible from New Zealand: the transit of Venus across the face of the sun on June 6 and a solar eclipse on November 14.

For more information about the eclipse go to the Stardome site.

About this lunar eclipse

In a lunar eclipse the Moon is obscured as it passes through the Earth's shadow. There are actually two shadows, called the umbra and the penumbra. The umbra is a smaller circle of dark shadow caused by the Earth blocking all the light from the Sun to the Moon.

Only a partial eclipse can be seen when the Moon is in the penumbra.

12:33am - First contact with penumbra (part shadow begins to creep across the Moon)

1:46am - First contact with umbra (full shadow begins to cross the Moon)

3:06am - Total eclipse starts (Moon in full dark shadow)

3:32am - Mid-Eclipse

3:57am - Total eclipse ends (lighter penumbral shadow only is across the Moon)

5:18am - Final contact with umbra (full light begins to cross the Moon again)

5:30am - Moon sets in NZ at this time