Sky-watchers around the world were treated to a celestial show overnight when the shadow of Earth cast a reddish glow on the moon, the result of rare combination of an eclipse with the closest full moon of the year. The total “supermoon” lunar eclipse, also known as a "blood moon," is one that appears bigger and brighter than usual as it reaches the point in its orbit that is closest to Earth. The combination of a supermoon and total lunar eclipse last occurred in 1982 and will not happen again until 2033.
The astronomical event, visible from the Americas, Europe, Africa, west Asia, and the east Pacific, was the result of the sun, Earth and a moon lining up for viewers for just over an hour. At left, the moon is partially covered by the Earth's shadow in this combination picture taken in Cape Town, South Africa.
Reindeer are seen in silhouette near the village of Yavterishki, Belarus, some 250 kilometers north of Minsk.
Sergei Gapon/AFP/Getty
Between the steeples of the Cologne Cathedral in western Germany.
Rolf Vennenbernd/AFP/Getty
The last of this year’s supermoons rises over Las Vegas.
David Becker / Reuters
Behind a statue in Frankfurt, Germany.
Frank Rumpenhorst/AFP/Getty
Next to the Empire State Building at the beginning of a total lunar eclipse in New York City.
NASA/Joel Kowsky
A man takes picture of the screen displaying the moon, which is covered by the Earth's shadow, in Warsaw, Poland.
Kacper Pempel / Reuters
Behind seagulls on the beach in Evanston, Illinois.
Jim Young / Reuters
Over Oslo, Norway.
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In Caracas, Venezuela.
An Afghan man is illuminated by the light from his phone while taking a selfie on the top of the Wazir Akbar Khan hill in Kabul.
Wakil Kohsar/AFP/Getty
