The night sky offered stargazers an exciting sight on Tuesday, with the moon darkening and turning a rusty red to create a half-blood thunder moon, or in other words a partial lunar eclipse in the middle of July.
Lucky viewers from Turkey, west and northern Europe, Australia, Africa and much of Asia caught a glimpse of the spectacle, with some blessed with clear skies to fully enjoy the astronomical phenomenon.
The moon rising the sky over Rome, before a lunar eclipse, on July 16, 2019.
The moon moved into the Earth's shadow starting at around 11 p.m. on Tuesday. At its maximum point around 12.30 a.m. nearly two-thirds of the moon were covered by the Earth's umbra.
Lunar eclipses can only occur when there is a full moon. At that point, the moon, Earth and sun are aligned.
The moon is seen during a partial lunar eclipse in Venice, Italy July 16, 2019.
However, those who missed Tuesday's eclipse, especially those in Europe, will have to be patient.
Because this was the last lunar eclipse that will be clearly visible from Central Europe until May 16, 2022.
The earth's shadow covers the moon during a partial lunar eclipse in Louveciennes, west of Paris, France, Tuesday, July 16, 2019 on the day of the 50th anniversary of the launch of the Apollo 11 mission to undertake humanity's first moon landing.
The moon's average distance from the Earth is around 380,000 kilometers. It has a diameter of approximately 3,470 kilometers, about a quarter of the Earth's.
Dark clouds cover the moon during a partial lunar eclipse as seen from Caracas on July 16, 2019.
Did you know that the full moon of each month of the calendar year has a special nickname from folklore?
Well June's is a strawberry moon and July's is a thunder moon. It's called a thunder moon because thunderstorms are frequent this time of year. The half-blood part is due to the fact that the event wasn't a full eclipse, so the moon only took on a slight coppery tone.
Rain cloud over the moon during a partial lunar eclipse, in Yangon on July 17, 2019.
