See stunning photos of the longest 'blood moon' lunar eclipse of the century that swept across the Eastern Hemisphere

Jeremy Berke

Jul 29, 2018, 02:28 IST

See stunning photos of the longest 'blood moon' lunar eclipse of the century that swept across the Eastern Hemisphere

REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

A full moon rises behind the Temple of Poseidon before a lunar eclipse in Cape Sounion, near Athens, Greece, July 27, 2018.

On the night of July 27 and the early morning hours of July 28, sky-watchers across the Eastern Hemisphere were treated to the longest lunar eclipse set to occur in the 21st century.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the sun, Earth, and moon are directly aligned, and the moon's orbit brings it directly into Earth's shadow. During the eclipse, the moon will pass through the darkest region of Earth's shadow, known as the umbra, which will give the moon a reddish "blood moon" sheen.

The eclipse, which was visible across parts of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, happened at the same time as the moon's apogee - which is when the moon hits its furthest point from Earth in its monthly orbit.

The eclipse colored the moon orange-red due to sunlight passing through our planet's atmosphere and bouncing off the moon.

See below for stunning pictures of the eclipse from around the world:

Skywatchers in Europe and Africa were first to see the fantastic eclipse.

This particular eclipse occurred during what's called a "micro" moon, or the opposite of a super moon.

This happens because the moon's orbit isn't perfectly circular, so it appears larger at times and smaller at others during its roughly 29-day-long orbit around Earth.

While the eclipse wasn't visible in North America, viewers in the Eastern Hemisphere were treated to a stunning lunar vista.

The total eclipse lasted for one hour and 43 minutes, with the entire event, including the partial eclipse, lasting three hours and 55 minutes.

It was certainly a dazzling display of color.

If the eclipse looks stunning from Earth, it looks even more surreal to a viewer actually on the moon.

According to a NASA visualization, Earth will look like it's surrounded by a ring of fire — with its sunset and sunrise connected in a loop.

But for most of us, this stunning view of the moon on our home turf is plenty sufficient.

"This is what life is all about: Magical moments like this," an onlooker in Kenya told Reuters. "It's just beautiful. It's well worth it."

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