8 stunning photos of last night's spooky "Blood Moon"

If you missed the lunar eclipse, don't worry, it was just the first of four visible over the next two years

Published April 15, 2014 4:50PM (EDT)

If you were watching the sky in the wee hours of this morning, you probably noticed a shadow crossing the surface of the moon and then suddenly the lunar surface reflected a creepy red hue. What you witnessed was a lunar eclipse. The moon's orbit perfectly lined up to fall into the Earth's shadow, and its red glow was from reflecting sunlight scattered through the atmosphere.

It is very possible that you missed this lunar phenomenon. Especially if cloudy conditions blocked your view, you weren't located in North America, parts of South America or Alaska or if you were tucked away in your bed, sound asleep.

Don't worry if you failed to see this morning's lunar eclipse. The blood moon was only the first in a tetrad of lunar eclipses set to occur every six months until September of 2015.  There's also a fabulous array of blood moon photos on NASA's flickr, and across social media. Here are some of the most breathtaking images:

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And of course NASA:

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By Sarah Gray

Sarah Gray is an assistant editor at Salon, focusing on innovation. Follow @sarahhhgray or email sgray@salon.com.

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Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Blood Moon Lunar Eclipse Space