Lunar Blood Moon will shine across our night sky this weekend

CAPE TOWN - This weekend, stargazers will be in for a treat as the Lunar Blood Moon will shine across our night sky.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth is positioned between the Moon and the Sun.

Astronomers said that an eclipse occurs every 18 months and can be predicted with extreme accuracy thanks to the calculations made centuries ago.

Daniel Cunnama, an Engagement Astronomer at South Africa’s Astronomical Observatory, said ancient civilisations would create stories, myths and legends around an eclipse.

"They would tell stories to try and understand it and some of those would be positive omens, and some would be negative omens, and some would just be stories. So, I think there's a rich cultural aspect to these sorts of events and even today, it's a cultural aspect to us, even the fact that we're talking about it now with this news.”