Shropshire Star

All the most spectacular images as a super blue blood moon graces the sky

In case you missed it.

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The red-tinted moon above Los Angeles (Richard Vogel/AP)

A remarkably rare celestial event, known as a super blue blood moon, has sent photographers scrabbling for their cameras.

The phenomenon is actually a collision of three separate events – “blue” designates the second full moon in a month, “super” refers to the moon being at its closest point to Earth on its orbit and “blood” relates to the colour caused by the Earth’s shadow during a total lunar eclipse.

While the eclipse was not visible in the UK and Ireland, for those in other parts of the world the view was spectacular.

The moon in California
The moon as seen in California, US (Ringo HW Chiu/AP)

The phenomenon was visible in the US in the early morning before sunrise.

According to Nasa, it’s a sight which won’t be seen in the country again until January 31 2037.

The moon was also visible in Asia and the Middle East, where photographers grabbed the opportunity to take stunning new images of landmarks.

A supermoon appears 14% bigger and 30% brighter than on regular nights, and the effect can be even more striking when landmarks are used for scale.

The moon rises behind Myanmar landmark Shwedagon pagoda
The moon rises behind Burma landmark Shwedagon pagoda (Thein Zaw/AP)

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Of course, Nasa was keeping a watchful eye on the event throughout too.

The space agency offered a live feed of the spectacle.

For those in the UK and Ireland, the moon should still be super and blue, weather allowing, even if the added bonus of the reddish hue caused by the eclipse is absent.

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