EARLY birds would be able to catch the "wondrous phenomenon" of a partial eclipse of the moon tomorrow, astronomers said today.
Dr Graeme White, director of James Cook University's Centre of Astronomy, said the eclipse would be visible across Australia from just after 4am until 5.40am (AEST).
At the full extent of the eclipse, about 20 per cent of the moon would be blacked out by the earth passing between it and the sun at 4.51am.
"Some of the ancient societies used to say that a demon had bitten the moon," Dr White said.
"They used to go out and take the entrails out of chickens to send away the bad demon who had bitten the moon."
Dr White said such eclipses occurred at most a couple of times a year. People in Western Australia would have the best view.
"It's always a wondrous phenomenon to see an eclipse and those of us living on the east coast of Australia, we will see a full moon rise but a partially eclipsed moon set," he said.