Something altogether rare occurred in the early hours of Monday morning, as a perigee moon – known as a supermoon – underwent a lunar eclipse, with people all over the northern hemisphere looking on in awe.
A supermoon occurs when the uneven lunar orbit brings the moon closest to the Earth – there’s around 31,000 miles in between its furthest and closest orbits – making it around 14pc larger to the naked eye.
While lunar eclipses are fairly regular, with most years seeing two of these instances, for it to happen during a perigee moon is quite rare.
The last time it happened was in 1982, and the next time it will happen will be 2033. This meant many people stayed up until 4am to watch the moon go red and disappear for but a few moments.
Supermoon lunar eclipse in all its glory
And, for those of you who slept through it, here is Twitter to help you get up to speed.
Under the hashtag #SuperBloodMoon people from the likes of Dingle, Belfast, Washington and beyond got into the spirit of things to make for a picture-filled few minutes.
For those of you who missed the #SuperBloodMoon… pic.twitter.com/zUJYxsyaTt
— Renzo Soprano (@Renzo_Soprano) September 28, 2015
Initial test render from time-lapse capture I shot of part of the #SuperBloodMoon rising as patchy clouds rolled by. pic.twitter.com/mbvri6wr1F
— Gary Kavanagh (@GaryRidesBikes) September 28, 2015
Between 3:10 & 4:40 am Carrowcrory, Sligo, Ireland>>http://t.co/WahnTwaopj #SuperBloodMoon pic.twitter.com/LAs8YKa1jY
— WoodlandBard (@WoodlandBard) September 28, 2015
#SuperBloodMoon above the Dublin chimneys #Dublin #Ireland pic.twitter.com/bdweUh9nsG
— David Costello (@DavidCostelloDC) September 28, 2015
The blood has gone out of the moon in Dingle Ireland #SuperBloodMoon @barrabest @PictureBelfast #dingle pic.twitter.com/0xcqgkWtYE
— Dingle Photographer (@yankedoo) September 28, 2015
#SuperBloodMoon In #Ireland few minutes ago 😉 #photography #EclipseLunar pic.twitter.com/a0WR14vtwx
— Bart photography (@holowatybart) September 28, 2015
what I expect my pictures to look like vs what they really look like #SuperBloodMoon pic.twitter.com/EsUTEjoobm
— 9GAG (@9GAG) September 28, 2015
Evil Is Evolving #SuperBloodMoon pic.twitter.com/rlb8WkqoQ2
— Alex (@ChosenGrier) September 28, 2015
#SuperBloodMoon ? Was even better with a telescope pic.twitter.com/iiQnYEmQV5
— Brendan McInnis (@BrendanMcInnis) September 28, 2015
Cutie #SuperBloodMoon pic.twitter.com/xBY6aWl1ON
— Ryan Widner (@RyanWiddy) September 28, 2015
We All Have Our Own Demons. #SuperBloodMoon pic.twitter.com/zBMrcJkCuD
— Alex (@ChosenGrier) September 28, 2015
Wow #SuperBloodMoon rising over the Washington Monument pic.twitter.com/s4D5EeqL9o
— Funny Tweets (@FunnyThingsUK) September 28, 2015
I missed the #SuperBloodMoon but I saw everyone's iPhone/Android/SLR pics so it's almost like I didn't miss it at all. Thank you internet!
— JaredMartinez™ (@JaredAKAMe) September 28, 2015
Main image via Shutterstock
