Blood Moon to illuminate night sky during rare total lunar eclipse

(AFP): A "Blood Moon" will bathe a large swathe of the world in red light on Thursday night during a rare total lunar eclipse.

Skygazers will be able to witness the celestial spectacle in the Americas and Pacific and Atlantic oceans, as well as parts of Western Europe and Africa.

It is the first total lunar eclipse since 2022, but there will be another this September.

The phenomenon happens when the Sun, Earth and Moon line up, and our planet casts a giant shadow across its satellite.

But as the Earth's shadow creeps across the Moon, it does not entirely blot out its white glow.

Instead it turns a reddish colour as sunlight filtered through Earth's atmosphere is refracted off the Moon's surface.

The lunar eclipse will last around six hours.

But the period when the Moon is completely in Earth's shadow — called the totality — will be just over an hour.

In North America, the moon will start to look like a bite is being taken out of it from 1:09am Eastern Time (0509 GMT), then the totality will be between 2:26am to 3:31am, according to Nasa.

In France, the totality will be from 7:26am-8:31am local time (0626-0731 GMT), according to the French Institute of Celestial Mechanics and Ephemeris Calculation.

However only the most western parts of Europe will get any chance to see the totality before the Moon sets.

And of course, getting a chance to see the Moon will depend on clear skies.

Two weeks later, some of the world will be treated to a partial solar eclipse, which is when the Moon blocks out the Sun's light on Earth.

This eclipse will be visible on March 29 in eastern Canada, parts of Europe, northern Russia and northwest Africa.

Viewing even a partial solar eclipse with the naked eye is dangerous — keen sky gazers are advised to use special eclipse glasses or pinhole projectors.