Blood moon lunar eclipse: Star

A “blood moon” eclipse is seen over the roof of the Chambord Castle in Chambord, France on July 27, 2018.

GUILLAUME SOUVANT / AFP

Blood moon lunar eclipse: Start time and weather forecast

The weather is looking good for those keen on catching part of the lunar eclipse on January 21.

Blood moon lunar eclipse: Star

A “blood moon” eclipse is seen over the roof of the Chambord Castle in Chambord, France on July 27, 2018.

GUILLAUME SOUVANT / AFP

The first phase of the lunar eclipse will begin a roughly 04:36 SAST across the country, those in the western regions of South Africa will be treated to more of the eclipse.

Stargazers in Cape Town will be able to view the first twenty minutes or so of the full lunar eclipse. Viewers in the West of the country will just start to see the beginnings of the red shadow cast over the moon but by this time the moon will have set in Johannesburg and on the east coast.

Will the blood moon be visible in South Africa?

Viewers will need to have a clear view of the horizon to the west and northwest from 04:36 with the moon already sinking in South African skies by that time. The moon will be approaching the horizon when the eclipse starts but some of the ‘action’ will still be viewable for South Africans.

The latest and greatest maximum views of the eclipse will come in the Western Cape at 05:52, we recommend viewing from a hilltop or other unobstructed view.

blood moon lunar eclipse wolf january
Image credit: Earthsky/Michele Whitlow, San Diego, 8 October 2014.

Weather forecast

Conditions for viewing the eclipse should be pretty good nationwide barring a few scattered clouds that might still cause significant obstruction in isolated patches of the country.

Gauteng: Partly cloudy, visibility may be affected.

Mpumalanga: Partly cloudy in the east at first with morning fog patches along the escarpment.

Limpopo: Like Mpumalanga, partly cloudy in the east at first with morning fog patches along the escarpment.

North West Province: Partly cloudy in the northeast of the province at first.

Free State:  Partly cloudy conditions will be isolated to the extreme northeast of the province.

Northern Cape: Morning fog along the coastline is unlikely to affect the visibility of the moon.

Western Cape: The only factor that could limit visibility is patches of fog.

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