Blood Moon casts a scarlet hue across the night sky in shortest lunar eclipse this century
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Did you blink? There was a total eclipse of the moon on Saturday - but it was an unusually short one.
The lunar event - where Earth's shadow completely blocks the moon - lasted only five minutes, making it the shortest eclipse of the century, NASA said.
The so-called 'blood moon' could be seen by billions of people across the western U.S., Canada and Australia.
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Blood moon: Skygazers in the western U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand were treated to a total eclipse of the moon before dawn on Saturday (pictured over New Zealand)
The eclipse is the third in a series of four blood moons, with the final one expected on September 28. The next one will be visible from Europe.
The best spot this morning was at the Mississippi River, where spectators caught the entire five minutes of the orb around 5am PT, astronomers said. Sky-gazers in the Midwest and East Coast only caught part of the lunar show.
The eclipse could also be seen in its entirety on Saturday night from eastern Australia, New Zealand and Japan.
But observatory staff in Sydney were unable to see the eclipse due to cloudy weather and instead wrote on Twitter: 'Our live feed from the Griffith Observatory [in America] is showing gorgeous totality pink!'
Don't blink! The moon may have shone red for three hours but it was only visible to citizens for five minutes (pictured over New Zealand)
On the west coast of North America, the total eclipse — what astronomers call totality — began shortly before 5am PT
They accompanied their tweet with a picture of a bright pink moon.
'Blood moon' refers to its orange or red appearance, which is the result of sunlight scattering off Earth's atmosphere. Whether the moon appears dark red, copper, bronze or another shade depends on several factors including the amount of volcanic ash in the atmosphere.
Unlike more lengthy eclipses, the moon in this case only skimmed the upper part of Earth's shadow. Normally, the moon passes through the middle of the shadow, making the eclipse lasts longer.
Sydney Observatory astronomer Andrew Smith said before the event: 'Some sources indicate it will be around 10 minutes of totality, which will make it the shortest since 1917, but other sources say it will be less than five minutes which makes it the shortest since 1592.'
'Blood moon' refers to its orange or red appearance — the result of sunlight scattering off Earth's atmosphere, seen here in Santa Barbara
Unlike solar eclipses which require eye protection, you only need clear skies to view this lunar eclipse (pictured over Santa Barbara)
Whether the moon appears dark red, copper or bronze depends on several factors including the amount of volcanic ash in the atmosphere
As well as California, the eclipse could also be seen in its entirety on Saturday night from eastern Australia, New Zealand and Japan
The total lunar eclipse is observed above cherry blossoms in Shiraishi city, Miyagi district, northeastern Japan on Saturday
Geoff Chester of the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington added that it was the changes in colour that makes lunar eclipses so interesting.
The full eclipse of the moon in September will be visible across the U.S. and Canada, as well as western Europe and Africa. 'Totality' will last around an hour and 20 minutes.
But those who missed out in Australia will have to wait until January 31, 2018, for the next lunar eclipse.
Unlike solar eclipses which require eye protection, you only need clear skies to view a lunar eclipse. A pair of binoculars or backyard telescope will enhance your view, but are not necessary.
Japanese sky-gazers caught the moon when it was still white and out of the Earth's shadow
It is the third of four consecutive lunar eclipses separated by six months - a tetrad - which is very rare
Atmospheric: The sky (pictured in Japan) burned a deep red as the gleaming orange light shone through the clouds
In New York, where the sun was rising, the sky glared orange from the reflection of the sun's rays from the moon
The full moon is seen over the Santa Monica Mountains in Topanga, California, shortly before it turns red during the lunar eclipse
The moon is seen behind downtown high-rise buildings during the shortest total lunar eclipse of the century before dawn
Sky-gazers will have a better chance of catching the next full lunar eclipse on September 28, that will last over an hour
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