THE Blood Moon total lunar eclipse has finally begun and is slowly creeping across the night skies with its glowing presence.
The lunar eclipse kicked off at 5.14pm Universal Time (6.14pm BST) when the July full Moon entered the Earth’s region of faintest shadow, the penumbra.
But the real eclipse spectacle started at 6.24pm UT (7.24pm BST) when the Earth’s darkest shadow slowly began eclipsing the glowing face of the moon.
Thereafter totality occurred when the entire face of the moon disappeared into the shadow and reappeared as the ominous Blood Moon.
This year totality will clock in at one hour and 43 minutes, making the July Blood Moon the longest total lunar eclipse of the 21st century.
The eclipse will feature mainly in the Eastern Hemisphere, over Central Asia and Eastern Africa, but stargazers in Europe, Southeast Asia, Australia and parts of South America will see the eclipse at moonrise or moonset.
Below are the last lunar eclipse updates as the Moon crosses paths with the Earth’s shadow.