Lunar Eclipse
Wed, 26 May
|Wai-iti Dark Sky Park, Wai-iti Rec Rsrv
A lunar eclipse is a special event, and one of the best places to see it is a genuinely dark sky location, like Wai-iti Dark Sky Park (weather permitting)
Time & Location
26 May 2021, 8:30 pm – 27 May 2021, 2:00 am
Wai-iti Dark Sky Park, Wai-iti Rec Rsrv, 437 Wakefield-Kohatu Highway, Wai-Iti 7095, New Zealand
About the event
Every so often when there is a full moon, the Earth passes directly between the Moon and the Sun, and we get a Lunar Eclipse. On May 26, from 8:47pm until May 27 at 1:49am, we will see the Moon fall into the shadow of our planet. This coincides with a Perigean Full Moon, colloquially known as a "Super" Moon because the moon is near it's closest approach to us and so it will be (marginally) bigger in the sky that is usual.
The shadow will really start getting dark around 9:45pm through to 12:45am, with the maximum eclipse being 11:18pm.
You will not need to visit Wai-it Dark Sky Park to see this event - it will be visible from the entire night-side of the planet. But we will be holding a star party to observe the Earth's umbral shadow slowly move over the Moon, and you can join us! (Please use this event to register so we have tracability for COVID purposes and so we have a crowd of a managable size).
Bring a deck chair so you can look up at the sky without getting a crick in your neck, and remember it is getting cold out, so wear your thermals and other warm layers, a warm hat and gloves! A thermos of hot beverage might be a good idea too.