Sky-watchers see ‘blood moon’ in total lunar eclipse

Parts of the world saw a rare celestial event today when the Earth’s shadow fell across the moon, turning it orange.

The lunar eclipse unfolded over three hours beginning at about 2 am EDT (5am Irish time), when the moon began moving into Earth’s shadow. A little more than an hour later, the moon could be seen eclipsed and bathed in an orange, red or brown glow.

Depending on local weather conditions, the eclipse was visible across a swath of the United States. Viewers from Florida to California and beyond went to viewing parties and social media and other websites to gawk and share photos of the so-called "blood moon". The eclipse also was visible from Australia, New Zealand and all of the Americas.

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The moon is seen over Buenos Aires, Argentina, as it begins a total lunar eclipse that turned the moon red in some parts of the world this morning. Photgraph: Marcos Brindicci/Reuters.

Precise colouring depends primarily on the amount of volcanic ash and other aerosols floating in the atmosphere, SpaceWeather.com reports. The celestial show was over by over by 5.30 am EDT (10.30 Irish time), Nasa said on Twitter.

Eclipses occur two or three times per year when the sun, Earth and the full moon line up so that the moon passes through Earth’s shadow.

Reuters