The Associated Press | Posted: January 21, 2019 5:01 AM | Last Updated: January 21, 2019
Totality — when the moon's completely bathed in Earth's shadow — lasted an hour
Image | Italy Lunar Eclipse
Caption: A woman stands watching the full moon early Monday Jan. 21 2019, in Milan, Italy. Sunday night, the Earth slid directly between the moon and the sun, creating a total lunar eclipse. (Luca Bruno/Associated Press)
The only total lunar eclipse this year and next came with a super moon bonus.
On Sunday night, the moon, Earth and sun lined up to create the eclipse, which was visible throughout North and South America, where skies were clear. There won't be another until 2021.
It was also the year's first super moon, when a full moon appears a little bigger and brighter thanks to its slightly closer position.
The entire eclipse took more than three hours. Totality — when the moon's completely bathed in Earth's shadow — lasted an hour. During a total lunar eclipse, the eclipsed, or blood, moon turns red from sunlight scattering off Earth's atmosphere.
Besides the Americas, the entire lunar extravaganza could be observed, weather permitting, all the way across the Atlantic to parts of Europe.
Image | LUNAR-ECLIPSE/BELGIUM
Caption: A combination photo shows the moon during a total lunar eclipse in Belgium. (Yves Herman/Reuters)
Image | LUNAR-ECLIPSE/AUSTRIA
Caption: People in Vienna monitored the moon ahead of the total lunar eclipse. (Lisi Niesner/Reuters)
Image | LUNAR-ECLIPSE/BELARUS
Caption: Here, lunar eclipse is seen behind an Orthodox church in Belarus. (Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters)
Image | Russia Lunar Eclipse
Caption: The moon, seen from Russia in this photo, experiences an eclipse when the earth moves directly between the sun and the moon. (Dmitri Lovetsky/Associated Press)
Image | LUNAR-ECLIPSE/
Caption: This photo shows the lunar eclipse viewed from Seattle. (Lindsey Wasson/Reuters)
Image | Germany Lunar Eclipse
Caption: An aircraft passes the full moon as the lunar eclipse begins in Frankfurt. (Michael Probst/Associated Press)
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