Kiwi sky gazers captured stunning images of the rare blood micromoon eclipse on Friday evening.
The phenomenon had not been seen in New Zealand's skies since Kupe landed in Aotearoa 800 years ago.
Taking place over three hours and 28 minutes, it was the longest partial lunar eclipse seen in Aotearoa's skies since 1212.
The red colour was visible once the vast majority of the surface (97 per cent) was in shadow, which peaked just after 10pm.
The shadow then gradually receded until the partial phase ended shortly before midnight.
"This partial lunar eclipse is unusually long because it's near total and it’s near apogee, which means the moon is furthest from Earth in its orbit, which is known as a micromoon," Stardome astronomer Rob Davison earlier explained.
"So, the moon travels close to the centre of Earth's shadow and will stay there for longer than average.”
Davidson also noted that the moon was only a few degrees away from Matariki in the sky, and they rose at a very similar time.
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