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Blood Moon 2014: Watch this amazing time-lapse video of the lunar eclipse

The lunar eclipse was the second and last of 2014, with two more expected next year

Loulla-Mae Eleftheriou-Smith
Thursday 09 October 2014 21:21 BST
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Watch the total lunar eclipse in a time-lapse video
Watch the total lunar eclipse in a time-lapse video

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Evening sky-watchers in much of Asia and early risers in America were treated to the incredible sight of the moon turning red in Wednesday’s lunar eclipse.

Called a ‘Blood Moon’ for its red hue caused by sunlight scattering off of the Earth’s atmosphere, the lunar eclipse was the second and last to be seen in 2014.

Wednesday’s spectacle was part of four total eclipses in a two year period and is known as a tetrad. The next two eclipses are expected in 2015, the first on 15 April and the second on 28 September.

The so-called tetrad is unusual because the full eclipses are visible in all parts of the United States, according to the retired Nasa astrophysicist Fred Espenak.

Observatory astronomer Geoff Wyatt called the sight “very spectacular,” adding: “The cloud certainly got in the way, but we’ve seen it during totality and of course that’s always the highlight – to see that lovely, reddish-brown colour”.

For the parts of the world that were unable to see the Blood Moon, both Nasa and the Slough observatory held livestreams.

Additional reporting by agencies

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