The total lunar eclipse expected to occur early morning tomorrow and last around 100 minutes for residents of Western Australia could be more interesting than previously tipped.

Experts say the ash cloud from Chile's Puyehue volcano hovering in the stratosphere will strip the colour spectrum in the rays of light to only allow red photons to pass. The result is a bloody red moon.

The total lunar eclipse on the morning of June 16th will be visible in Australia and New Zealand, with people in the west likely to witness more than in the east.

West Australia will see the whole event. It will start around 2.30am and totality will be around 4.30am.

Those in the Eastern States, however, will miss the final stages as the moon sets at sunrise.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the earth directly blocks the moon from the sun’s rays. Unlike a solar eclipse, people can view a lunar eclipse in perfect safety with the naked eye and would not require any special equipment.

Tomorrow’s stargazing event, one of the longest three lunar eclipses of the past 100 years, is the first of two total lunar eclipses in 2011. The second is occurring on December 10.