Where to see tonight's super blood moon across Australia

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We're in for a treat tonight - with a total lunar eclipse coinciding with a supermoon set to be visible in Australian skies for the first time in more than three years.

The last total lunar eclipse, also known as a blood moon, was in January 2019, but one has not been visible in Australia since 2018. 

A supermoon takes place when the full moon occurs near the closest point in its orbit to Earth.

Tonight's “super blood moon”, is a combination of a supermoon, a total lunar eclipse and a pink moon (when the full moon occurs near the closest point in its orbit to Earth), and will be visible from the early evening.

According to the Guardian, the last time this happened was in early 2018 when a blood moon and a super moon also coincided with a blue moon - until then, this hadn't occurred since 1866.

The process tonight should take more than an hour, and will begin around 7.44pm in the eastern states and 5.44pm in Western Australia, with the moon slowly darkening as it passes into Earth’s shadow. Indications are that the moon will be completely in shadow for about 15 minutes at around 9.11 AEST. During this time it will appear a dim reddy-orange in colour. 

Speaking to the Guardian, Dr Brad Tucker, an astrophysicist from the Australian National University, said his advice was to check it periodically throughout the evening.

“If you stare at it for five minutes, it will look the same. If you look at it and then go back and look at it in a half-hour, it will look dramatically different,” he said.

“My advice is to see it a few times between 7.44pm and 9.11pm AEST, really enjoy it between 9.11pm and 9.25pm, and then you can go to bed because it just fades away.”

Almost all parts of the country will be able to see the super blood moon to some degree. 

How to capture it

In terms of camera gear, bring a tripod as you'll be shooting a long exposure, and consider using a shutter release to minimise camera shake when you press the shutter. It's important you turn off Autofocus and set your camera focus to Manual. Focus your lens to infinity and then check focus by 'zooming' via your viewfinder or EVF.

From there, a shutter speed somewhere in the vicinity of 1/125th of a second and an aperture to f/8 or f/11, with the ISO at its lowest setting, should be a good starting point.

Tonight's timing

ACT/NSW/TAS/VIC/QLD

Partial eclipse: 7.44pm
Totality: 9.11 to 9.25pm
Ends at: 10.52pm

NT/SA

Partial eclipse: 7.14pm
Totality: 8.41 to 8.55pm
Ends at: 10.22pm

WA

Partial eclipse: 5.44pm
Totality: 7.11 to 7.25pm
Ends at: 8.52pm

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