A 'blood Moon' from 2011. The coppery hue is caused by light from the sun refracting through the Earth's atmosphere and striking the surface of the Moon - it's the same mechanism that makes sunsets and sunrises appear red. (ADALBERTO ROQUE/AFP/Getty Images)
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A total lunar eclipse will be visible on Wednesday morning, an event also known as a ‘blood moon’ because of the reddish colour the moon takes as it passes into the Earth’s shadow.
The total eclipse is the second of four over a two-year period that began on 15 April and concludes on 28 September 2015. The eclipse was expected to begin at 4am EDT (8am GMT) and reach totality before 6.25 EDT (10.25am GMT).
During the eclipse, light beams into Earth's shadow, filling it with a coppery glow that colours the moon shades of orange and red. Tony Phillips, an astronomer with SpaceWeather.com, explained: “You might expect Earth to be utterly dark, but the rim of the planet is on fire.
“You're seeing every sunrise and every sunset in the world, all at once.”
The blood moon was visible in parts of North America, South America and East Asia and Australia – but this did not mean the rest of the world has to miss out.
In pictures: Blood moon eclipse
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Both Nasa and Slooh.com hosted live webcasts of the lunar event, with NASA's beginning at 3 am EDT (7am GMT) and Slooh's at 5 am EDT (9am GMT). Nasa’s experts also provided a live commentary and answering questions on the blood moon. You can watch their live feed below.
Slooh’s online observatory uses robotic telescopes across the world to offer live feeds of solar events.
You can watch the event from their telescopes by clicking here.
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