Clear skies over Wellington for the blood supermoon

It will be clear skies tonight for Wellingtonians keen to catch the blood supermoon.

The phenomenon can be seen in the capital's night sky at 11.11pm and last till 11.25pm.

Niwa meteorologist Ben Noll believed the lunar eclipse will be quite a show with clear skies ideal for photos.

"Much of the South Island is looking to be clear, and much of the lower western and northern North Island including Wellington and Auckland are looking to be clear as well."

A blood supermoon is a combination of a full Moon, the Moon being at its closest point to Earth and a total lunar eclipse.

The change of colour is due to the Earth blocking the Sun's light and only heavily filtered light reaching the Moon.

The last time a blood supermoon occurred in New Zealand was in December 1982.

Wellington's Carter Observatory science communicator Haratina Mogosanu said the event will be spectacular.

She recommended people get to a spot with easy access to regular sightings of the moon and use binoculars to see the moon in the greatest detail.

She said to take photos of the eclipse you will need specialised gear; mobile phones won't cut it.

Mogosanu said the event will kick off the eclipse season that will see four big lunar eclipses in the next two years.