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PHOTOS: Super 'Blood Moon' Wows

By Francesca Paris
Published January 21, 2019 at 10:53 AM EST
A U.S. flag flies in the foreground of this image of the moon during the lunar eclipse as seen from Washington, D.C., on Sunday night.
J. David Ake
/
AP
A U.S. flag flies in the foreground of this image of the moon during the lunar eclipse as seen from Washington, D.C., on Sunday night.

The huge, red moon awed viewers across the Americas and parts of western Europe and Africa on Sunday night and early Monday morning.

It was the only total lunar eclipse of the year, a "blood moon" in which sunlight leaking around the edges of the Earth makes the moon appear red. And it was also a supermoon, when a full moon appears larger than usual because it has neared the closest point to Earth in its orbit.

Some people even hailed the lunar spectacle as a "super blood wolf moon," or various permutations of those four words. That's because "wolf moon" is the traditional name for January's full moon.

The simultaneous phenomena made for a thrilling sight that lasted more than three hours from start to finish if you were lucky enough to see the whole thing:

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

The "blood moon" rises behind the Transamerica pyramid in San Francisco on Sunday.
/ Bloomberg via Getty Images
/
Bloomberg via Getty Images
The "blood moon" rises behind the Transamerica pyramid in San Francisco on Sunday.
The red moon hangs above an industrial plant in Duisburg, Germany.
Marcel Kusch / AFP/Getty Images
/
AFP/Getty Images
The red moon hangs above an industrial plant in Duisburg, Germany.

The huge moon is framed in a statue in Sacramento, Calif.
Rich Pedroncelli / AP
/
AP
The huge moon is framed in a statue in Sacramento, Calif.
The moon is seen above the castle of Salgo, more than 60 miles northeast of Budapest, Hungary, during the eclipse early Monday.
Peter Komka / AP
/
AP
The moon is seen above the castle of Salgo, more than 60 miles northeast of Budapest, Hungary, during the eclipse early Monday.
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The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

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