The blood moon that occurred on Wednesday, Oct. 8 was a visual treat that did not disappoint those who watched the total lunar eclipse unfold.
Skygazers from all over the world who managed to witness the lunar event, which occurred in the early hours in North America and in the evening in Asia, were awed at the sight of the moon turning orange or red.
The moon is marked by a red coloring during a total lunar eclipse, which is why it is called a "blood moon." Only sunlight that bends around the atmosphere reaches the Earth's natural satellite during the eclipse when our planet blocks sunlight to the moon and the red tint is caused by red light travelling more easily through air than the other colors.
The early phase of the eclipse started at 4 a.m. in the U.S. east coast but the redness only appeared once the lunar satellite was totally eclipsed and this occurred more than two hours later at 6:25 in the morning. Those who lived in the Midwest and West Coast were able to catch a longer glimpse of the total eclipse.
Skywatchers from all over the world also eagerly watched the moon turn red although some did not witness the phenomenon because the view is blocked by the clouds. Skywatchers in China, for instance, were blocked by the blanket of air pollution hovering above Beijing and five other nearby provinces.
In Japan, the skies became partly cloudy as the eclipse progressed but those in the rooftops of Tokyo's skyscrapers managed to witness the moon change color when the clouds have cleared. Clouds also posed viewing problems in Australia but those who watched from the Sydney Observatory said they have witnessed the totality.
''Very spectacular,'' Sydney Observatory astronomer Geoff Wyatt told the Associated Press. ''The cloud certainly got in the way, but we've seen it during totality and of course that's always the highlight - to see that lovely, reddish-brown color.''
The years 2014 and 2015 are marked with a series of blood moons known as tetrads and this frequency may lead some people into thinking that this is common. Experts from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA, however, said that while there are many tetrads in the 21st centuries, there are long periods spanning 300 years when there are none.
The total lunar eclipse also offered some rare shooting opportunities to photography enthusiasts who took stunning photos of the moon.
