UAE shutterbug captures 'split' moon; Video: Sky-watchers see 'blood moon' in lunar eclipse

Parts of the world saw a rare celestial event on Tuesday when the Earth's shadow fell across the moon, turning it orange.

The lunar eclipse unfolded over three hours beginning at about 2 a.m. EDT, when the moon began moving into Earth's shadow. A little more than an hour later, the moon could be seen eclipsed and bathed in an orange, red or brown glow.

Depending on local weather conditions, the eclipse was visible across a swath of the United States.

Viewers from Florida to California and beyond went to viewing parties and social media and other websites to gawk and share photos of the so-called "blood moon".

A small crowd of stargazers who gathered on a roadside north of Los Angeles saw a sliver of still-illuminated moon and a reddish shadow cast across the lunar orb.

Others who were not so lucky took to Twitter to complain about cloud cover in New Jersey and Pittsburgh. An image of rain-streaked windows under impenetrable Atlanta skies could be seen. In the Pacific Northwest city of Seattle the skies were equally overcast.

The eclipse also was visible from Australia, New Zealand and all of the Americas.

Precise coloring depends primarily on the amount of volcanic ash and other aerosols floating in the atmosphere, SpaceWeather.com reports.

The celestial show was over by over by 5:30 a.m. EDT (0930 GMT), Nasa said on Twitter.

Eclipses occur two or three times per year when the sun, Earth and the full moon line up so that the moon passes through Earth's shadow.

Tuesday's eclipse will be the last full lunar eclipse visible from the United States until 2019, Nasa said.

EARLIER REPORT

HG Wells in his ground-breaking Sci-Fi book 'Time Machine' had forecast a time when the moon would break up into pieces. The book was published way back in 1895.

Well, according to one of the readers of Emirates 24|7, Mohamed Muzaffar, the phenomenon described by HG Wells is happening - and he seems to have captured it on film.

Click to see gallery of Lunar Eclipse: Blood Moon begins

In a photograph, supplied to Emirates 24|7, the reader claims to have caught a "split in the moon".

"It was captured by myself yesterday in Al Qusais, Dubai at around 6:30 pm. It shows a split in the moon. I am very sure that is not because of clouds or any obstacles," he said.

Emirates 24|7 could not verify the authenticity of the picture and cannot say whether it is natural or strange phenomena. Readers are advised to make up their own minds about it.

Total lunar eclipse

A total lunar eclipse, the first since December 2011, will take place today with the Americas best placed to get a glimpse.

With a first phase - known as a penumbral eclipse - kicking off at 0453 GMT, the total lunar eclipse is due to start at 0706 GMT and last until 0824 GMT, the US space agency said.

The moon will fully emerge from the Earth's shadow at 1037 GMT.

While the entire event is visible from North and South America, sky watchers in northern and and eastern Europe, eastern Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia will be out of luck, according to NASA.

It's the the first of four consecutive phenomena of this kind this year and next, a series astronomers call a tetrad.

The last time a tetrad took place was in 2003-2004, with the next predicted for 2032-2033. In total, the 21st century will see eight tetrads.

The year's second total lunar eclipse will take place on October 8, with the tetrad's remaining two expected on April 4 and September 28 of next year.

For those eager to follow along from their computer screens, NASA will be transmitting real time images of Tuesday's eclipse, as well as scientific commentary, on its website.

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