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STARGAZERS on a hill in Bendigo were treated to mostly clear skies for tonight's total lunar eclipse.
About 30 or 40 people gathered around a handful of telescopes at the Tucker Street Reserve from about 8pm shortly before the start of the eclipse, when the Earth's shadow began crossing the moon.
Bendigo District Astronomical Society's Brien Blackshaw said a bit of cloud haze accompanied the start of the eclipse, but otherwise the night was looking good viewing for stargazers.
"We had cloud but the cloud actually made it look great, beautifully ethereal," he said.
He said the site was a good viewing platform for eclipses.
"We had a lunar eclipse here back in 2007 or 2008 and we had about 350 people here.
"We had one earlier in the year, around March, and there was a few more than now, but given daylight savings and kids back to school we thought there wouldn't be a great number here tonight.
"We're really here to observe it ourselves, we're not worried if people don't turn up."
He said he was looking forward to clear viewing for the rest of the eclipse.
"The moon will be covered and you'll get a visual effect of the moon being covered by the Earth's shadow, so you'll get a line around it, and then another half an hour later it will start to emerge, the moon will come out again.
"And the way it's going, by the time we get the emergence, we'll get the clear sky."
Best friends and neighbours Michelle Baker and Elia Swift said they had brought their teenage daughters to the hill for a glimpse of the eclipse.
"We thought it would also be a real treat to see it through a powerful telescope," Ms Baker said.
"I'm planning on buying a telescope, but in the meantime these guys are happy to let us use their telescope and they're all generous, wonderful people."
The pair said they were especially impressed when the telescope was turned to face Saturn's rings.
Scott Macrae, a nearby resident, said he brought his five children, including two sets of twins, to the reserve to view the eclipse.
