March 3 'blood moon' total lunar eclipse dazzles millions around the world (photos)

A multiple exposure picture of the ‘blood moon’ over Golaghat in Assam, India. — A multiple exposure picture of the 'blood moon' total lunar eclipse over Golaghat in Assam, India. (Image credit: Biju Boro/AFP via Getty Images)

As the full moon started to set over North America in the early hours of March 3, it briefly plunged into the darkest part of Earth's shadow — resulting in the last total lunar eclipse visible to the U.S. until 2029.

If you missed the early morning spectacle, you can still watch the whole thing unfold via live stream recordings, or enjoy some of the first images of the event below.

Photographer Frederic J. Brown captured the blood moon in partial shadow toward the tail end of the eclipse, which lasted roughly an hour — Photographer Frederic J. Brown in Los Angeles, California captured the blood moon in partial shadow toward the tail end of the eclipse, which lasted roughly an hour. (Image credit: Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)

Lasting about 5 hours and 39 minutes total, the lunar eclipse began late at night for most skywatchers in North America, with the spectacular "totality" phase — the roughly 1-hour period where the moon drifts through the center of Earth's dark umbral shadow — lasting about an hour.

Viewers on the East Coast had a slim chance to see totality from roughly 6:00 to 7:00 a.m. EST, just as the moon set below the horizon. Those living in CST and PST timezones had a better shot at seeing the moon turn red in the early morning hours (weather and cloud cover permitting).

The eclipse over Mexico City — The 'blood moon' shines behind the Angel of Independence monument in Mexico City on March 3. (Image credit: Daniel Cardenas/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Skywatchers in Australia, New Zealand, and eastern Asia also had auspicious views, with up to 3 billion people around the world at least getting to see part of the eclipse, according to Live Science's sister site Space.com.

The 'blood moon' rises over the skyline of Manila, Philippines on Tuesday morning. — In Manila, the capital of the Philippines, photographer Ted Aljibe snapped the blood moon rising over the city. During a lunar eclipse, the Earth travels between the moon and the sun, meaning it’s the opposite of a solar eclipse. (Image credit: Photo by Ted Aljibe/ AFP via Getty Images)

Total lunar eclipses are also known as "blood moons," due to the reddish hue the moon takes when it slips into Earth's umbra.

This is due to an effect known as Rayleigh scattering, in which different wavelengths of sunlight are selectively filtered through Earth's atmosphere before hitting the surface of the moon. Shorter, bluer wavelengths are absorbed by the atmosphere while longer, redder ones pass through, turning our moon bloody. (If you think the effect looks cool from Earth, wait until you see what it looks like on the moon.)

A multiple exposure picture of the &lsquo;blood moon&rsquo; over Golaghat in Assam, India. — A multiple exposure picture of the blood moon taken by photographer Biju Boro over Golaghat, India. A lunar eclipse like this only occurs when the moon is perfectly aligned behind our planet, relative to the sun. When the alignment is slightly off, and the sun's light can still directly hit some of the moon, it's a partial eclipse. (Image credit: Biju Boro/AFP via Getty Images)

Eclipses always come in pairs, with each lunar eclipse falling two weeks before or after a solar eclipse. This year, a lucky few humans (and lots of penguins) had a chance to see a "ring of fire" solar eclipse over Antarctica two weeks ago, on Feb. 17. Here's what it looked like from the French/Italian Concordia research station in Antarctica.

The 'blood moon' above Sanya, China. — The 'blood moon' appears in a partial phase above Sanya in China's Hainan Province, as photographed by photographer Cheng Xin. The event coincided with the Chinese Lantern Festival, which marks the final day of the 15-day Lunar New Year celebrations. (Image credit: Photo by Cheng Xin/Getty Images)

The next total lunar eclipse visible over North America is coming June 26, 2029.

Brandon is the space / physics editor at Live Science. With more than 20 years of editorial experience, his writing has appeared in The Washington Post, Reader's Digest, CBS.com, the Richard Dawkins Foundation website and other outlets. He holds a bachelor's degree in creative writing from the University of Arizona, with minors in journalism and media arts. His interests include black holes, asteroids and comets, and the search for extraterrestrial life.

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