Tonight, the moon will become a copper-toned orb as a total lunar eclipse will be visible some lucky Australians. Historically referred to as a "blood moon", lunar eclipses were taken as an omen of bad times ahead. However, we now know that a lunar eclipse simply occurs when the moon passes through the shadow of the earth. The reddish tinge of the moon during the eclipse derives from the refraction of light through the earth's atmosphere. Visible light from the sun with long wavelengths are bent by the atmosphere. In the spectrum of visible light, red light has a longer wavelength than blue light. These frequencies will bend through the atmosphere, basking the moon in a red glow. The full red moon will appear when the moon is directly in umbra, or shadow, of the earth. This is known as the moment of totality, and will only last 5 to 10 minutes. Unlike a solar eclipse, a lunar eclipse is perfectly safe to look at with the naked eye. In Queensland, the eclipse will occur between 8:15pm - 11:45pm, with the totality at 10pm. Unfortunately, light showers look to continue into the night for Brissy. Even if it stops raining, high cloud and some patchy lower level cloud will obstruct the view. New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania will experience the eclipse between 9:15-12:45am, with the total eclipse at 11pm. However, cloud will remain fairly dense until tomorrow morning over Sydney and Canberra. The area around Bourke and Broken Hill will be the best chance for viewing in New South Wales. Melburnians fare better. The skies look to remain partly cloudy, increasing slightly towards midnight and just after the total eclipse. Similar conditions are likely in Hobart, but cloud looks a touch thicker. For South Australia, the event will occur between 8:45pm - 12:15am, with the blood moon appearing at 10:30pm. Adeladians may be lucky enough to catch the start, (the "prenumbral" phase), but when totality occurs cloud may be too thick to see through. Residents in Perth may well miss it. Occurring between 6:15pm - 9:45pm with the total at 8pm in Western Australia, a band of high level cloud is likely to obscure the view until early tomorrow morning. Anyone living in the Northern Territory will have a chance to view the event between 7:45pm - 11:15pm, with the total eclipse at 9:30pm. After a few showers throughout the day, those in Darwin should be on track for a mostly clear night.