Stunning photos of the eerie red blood moon after a rare total lunar eclipse

AMAZING photos have captured a rare Super Flower Blood Moon as it lit up skies around the world over the weekend.

The cosmic event occurs when a full lunar eclipse coincides with a supermoon – when our rocky satellite gets particularly close to Earth and appears brighter than usual.

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As the Moon moves in our planet’s shadow for about 15 minutes, it appears to turn red – earning it the name “Blood Moon.”

At the same time, the moon is entering its perigee, or closest point in its orbit, making it particularly large and bright in the sky.

The result for those with clear skies was a stunning sight visible over North and South America, Europe, Africa and the eastern Pacific.

The celestial showcase appeared on May 15-16 and was the first total lunar eclipse of the year.

Photographers captured the Super Flower Blood Moon over the UK, US, Greece, Iraq, Russia and the island of Gran Canaria in Spain.

Stargazers took to social media to marvel at the sight.

One Twitter user wrote: “Tonight’s Super Flower Blood Moon looks so pretty I can’t stop looking at it”.

Another said: “Sat outside with Nicole and photographed the moon because it reminds us that in the midst of 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” due to its combination of rare attributes.

The name comes from the fact that it’s a flower moon, blood moon, and super moon all in one.

The flower moon is the traditional name for the full moon in May, as it appears in spring.

A “blood moon” occurs when Earth’s Moon is in a total lunar eclipse, causing it to momentarily turn red or brown.

It may sound spooky, but it’s just a trick of light caused by the bending of light waves before they hit our natural satellite.

Supermoons occur when the Moon is closest to Earth in its 27-day orbit around our planet.

Astronomers typically define the phenomenon as a full moon coming up to 90 percent from its nearest point.

According to NASA, there are between two and four lunar eclipses every year. Each is visible over about half of the Earth.

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