Pictures: Blood moon rising

The longest total lunar eclipse created a spectacle in the sky tonight – with all eyes focused on the waning moon and rising of the blood moon. It is also the longest total eclipse in a century and was clearly visible in Cape Town and Johannesburg.

The eclipse created a ‘blood moon’ which turned the surface of the moon into a red hue. The rare astrological event lasted for 2 hours – Venus, Saturn and Jupiter were clearly visible during the eclipse, adding another dimension to an already astounding view.

This was the first visible eclipse since 2011 in South Africa and the next one may only occur in Africa in 2025.

#eclipse #lunareclipse2018 #lunareclipse #bloodmoon #bloodmoon2018 #bloodmooneclipse #capetown #capetownlife #capetownvibes #southafrica #clearskies #stats #lunareclipsesouthafrica

A post shared by Eleni (@eliphonehome) on Jul 27, 2018 at 1:51pm PDT

More and more amazing #bloodmooneclipse #lunareclipse2018 #capetown #nightscapephotography #howlingwolfmoon #eclipsedelune @astroframe

A post shared by Tsondru (@free_range_nun) on Jul 27, 2018 at 1:45pm PDT

My bro just took this shot of the eclipse in Cape Town. It was too cloudy here in New Zealand for us to see.

A post shared by Irma_Schutte (@irma_sober_revivalist) on Jul 27, 2018 at 1:43pm PDT

My contribution to #bloodmoon2018 from #CapeTown shot from my home. Shot using #sonya7ii with #Canon #70200mm in #Super35mode effectively at a 300mm focal range. #TAV

A post shared by Tauriq Ajam (@tauriq_ajam) on Jul 27, 2018 at 1:33pm PDT

Lunar eclipse #capetown #lunareclipse #lunareclipse2018 #magical #photography #fridayfun #bloodmoon

A post shared by Tracy Lawrence (@tracylaw777) on Jul 27, 2018 at 2:11pm PDT

Moon & little Mars ? . . . . #BloodMoon #LunarEclipse #CapeTown #Friends #GoodTime #nightscape #moonshot #Mars #waterfront #instapic #spacetime #eclipse #lightwork

A post shared by Jess De Villiers | ? (@jessdevilliers.za) on Jul 27, 2018 at 2:09pm PDT

Waiting for the blood moon, and the clouds to clear. #bloodmoon #lunareclipse #moon #eclipse #capetown #lionshead #nightphotography #urbanscape #mountains #devilspeak #tablemountain #amazingsouthafrica #bbctravel #natgeotravel #natgeoyourshot #lonelyplanet #photooftheday #photography

A post shared by Chanan (@chanan.weiss) on Jul 27, 2018 at 2:09pm PDT

…total lunar eclipse 2018 – seen from Cape Town ??? #lunareclipse #lunareclipse2018 #vandawaterfront #capetown #capetownliving #naturalwonder #nightsky #africansky #rarewonders #respectnature #lovenature #lifeisgorgeous

A post shared by Simone Kretzschmar (@simik78) on Jul 27, 2018 at 2:07pm PDT

The blushing moon. #lunareclipse #capetown

A post shared by Moisés but call me Moses (@theletterm_za) on Jul 27, 2018 at 2:04pm PDT

This is one long eclipse. Don’t have enough wine to accompany the whole viewing… ?? #lunareclipse2018 #lunareclipse #capetown #moonandstars #moon #bloodmoon #bloodmoon2018 #photography #photooftheday #canonphotography

A post shared by Alice Kühne (@alicekuhne) on Jul 27, 2018 at 2:02pm PDT

To the moon and back!?In this photo you can see that the moon is slowly starting to ‘disappear’. This is because of Earth’s shadow that is being casted onto the moon. You can clearly see the craters in this photo. ?

A post shared by Paije Flood (@plfphotography_) on Jul 27, 2018 at 1:56pm PDT

Our Earth throwing shade on our little moon, with Mars at her closest, the next planet out from our star the Sun #solarsystem #earthscape #moonlight #moon #lunareclipse2018 #capetown #cosmicdance #theuniverseinverse #eclipsedelune #howlingwolfmoon

A post shared by Tsondru (@free_range_nun) on Jul 27, 2018 at 1:47pm PDT

Pictures: Instagram