The Super Blue Blood Moon Was Highly Photogenic

The super blue blood moon sets beside the Statue of Liberty. Photo: Gary Hershorn/Corbis via Getty Images

Skywatchers were treated to a rare treat Wednesday morning as a super blue blood moon shone across the sky in the Western Hemisphere for the first time in 152 years.

The striking cosmic occurrence is only visible when three lunar events align. First there’s the super moon, which occurs when the moon is as close to Earth as it gets. Then there’s the blue moon, which is what we call the second full moon in a calendar month. And finally the blood moon, which is when the moon passes through the Earth’s shadow during a total lunar eclipse, giving it a red tint.

The best views of the super blue blood moon in the U.S. were available to those in California, but there are plenty of photos to gawk at from all around the globe.

The supermoon in Lancelin, Australia. Photo: Paul Kane/Getty Images
The supermoon rises over the horizon in Bangkok. Photo: Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images
The supermoon rises over a pagoda in Kumal, Myanmar. Photo: Ye Aung Thu/AFP/Getty Images
The supermoon rises over Vladivostok in Russia’s Far East. Photo: Yuri Smityuk/Yuri Smityuk/TASS
The supermoon over the 462-meter-tall tower of Lakhta Centre in St. Petersburg. Photo: Peter Kovalev/Peter Kovalev/TASS
The supermoon setting behind a cinder cone volcano in the Mojave Desert. Photo: David McNew/Getty Images
The eclipsed supermoon sets in Los Angeles. Photo: Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images
The Super Blue Blood Moon Was Highly Photogenic