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AMAZING photos have captured a rare Super Flower Blood Moon as it lit up skies across the globe over the weekend.
The cosmic event occurs when a full lunar eclipse coincides with a Supermoon – which is when our rocky satellite is particularly close to Earth and appears brighter than usual.
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For about 15 minutes, as the moon moves into our planet’s shadow, it appears to turn red – earning the name “Blood Moon”.
At the same time, the moon enters its perigee, or the closest point in its orbit to Earth, making it particularly large and bright in the sky.
The result for those with clear skies was a stunning sight visible across North and South America, Europe, Africa and the East Pacific.
The celestial showcase appeared on May 15 and 16 and was the first total lunar eclipse of the year.
Photographers captured the Super Flower Blood Moon over the U.K., U.S., Greece, Iraq, Russia and the island of Gran Canaria, Spain.
Stargazers took to social media to marvel at the sight.
One Twitter user wrote: “The Super Flower Blood Moon tonight looks so pretty, I can’t stop looking at it”.
Another said: “Sat outside with Nicole taking pictures of the moon because it reminds us that amidst all the chaos in the world, there are many things that are both beautiful and predictable.“
The phenomenon has become known as the “Super Flower Blood Moon” given its combination of rare attributes.
The name comes from the fact that it is a Flower Moon, a blood moon and a Supermoon all rolled into one.
The Flower Moon is the traditional name for the full moon of May, given its appearance around springtime.
A “blood moon” happens when Earth’s moon is in a total lunar eclipse, causing it to briefly turn red or brown.
It may sound spooky, but it’s just a trick of the light caused by the bending of lightwaves before they hit our natural satellite.
Super Moons occur when the moon is at the closest point to Earth on its 27-day orbit of our planet.
Astronomers typically define the phenomenon as a full moon that comes within 90 per cent of its closest point.
According to Nasa, there are between two to four lunar eclipses every year. Each one is visible over roughly half the Earth.
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