Skywatchers at Australia and eastern Asia, across the Pacific, and into the western parts of the Americas were treated to a complete lunar eclipse dubbed by some the Super Flower Blood Moon.
The complete moon was particularly stunning around the planet, as Earth’s natural satellite was almost as near our world as it ever gets throughout its orbit. That phenomenon, called perigee, made the moon appear only a smidge bigger than usual.
Then, blessed audiences with the ideal geography captured the moon sliding partly into the planet’s shadow, like something had taken a bite out of the skies.
At length, the moon slid into the deepest shadow cast by the Earth and picked up a red sheen, the shine of every sunrise and sunset occurring in the moment.
The only other lunar eclipse of the calendar year, which occurs on Nov. 19, is a partial eclipse and will miss the red stage that earns blood moons their nickname.
