The spectacular sight of the 'Supermoon' was witnessed today
Sky gazers were treated to a rare astronomical event Monday when a swollen "supermoon" and lunar eclipse combined for the first time in decades, showing Earth's satellite bathed in blood-red light in Qatar.
The celestial show, visible from America, Europe, Africa, west Asia and the east Pacific, was the result of the sun, Earth and a larger-than-life, extra-bright moon lining up for just over an hour.
Images captured the progression of the lunar eclipse to a striking red finale.
The "blood moon" seemed to have appeared in stages across the planet as the satellite reached its closest orbital point to Earth, called perigee, while in its brightest phase.
The resulting "supermoon" appeared 30 percent brighter and 14 percent larger than when at apogee, the farthest point from perigee.
Unusually, the Earth took position in a straight line between the moon and the sun, blotting out the direct sunlight that normally makes our satellite glow whitish-yellow.
But some light still crept around the planet's edges and was filtered through its atmosphere, casting an eerie red light that creates the blood moon.
For people younger than 33, this was their first-ever chance to see a "super blood moon".
The last, only the fifth recorded since 1900, was in 1982 and the next will not be until 2033.
Here are some pics from Doha - did you take some too?
September Monday, 28th in the sky we were witness a unique astronomical phenomenon that happens only once in every...
Posted by Krishna's WildKliker Frozen-Moments Photography on Monday, September 28, 2015
post of today;s moon 27th sept 2015 19:15 hours @doha Qatar
#lunarsupermoon pic.twitter.com/kMqRD8lT76
— Krishna (@kk_qatar) September 27, 2015
