THESE incredible photographs, showing the view of the moon in the early hours of Monday morning were taken by Standard readers.
Matthew Mason sent in shots taken between 2.48am and 5am in Droitwich and Bromsgrove photographers Sarah and Simon Fisher put together a compilation of eight views of the moon showing the astronomical exravaganza – a ‘super blood moon’ and an eclipse when it reached the closest point to the Earth.
From biblical fears of the apocolypse to astrological predictions of significance, there have been countless interpretations of this rare cosmic occurance, which has taken place on just five occasions since 1900 and is not due to be witnessed again until 2033.
The moon at its closest point to the Earth (31,000 miles) is known as the Perigee Moon, making it 14 per cent bigger and 30 per cent brighter than usual.
The astronomical event is also the last of a sequence of four lunar eclipses, known as a lunar retrad, occuring in April and October 2014 and in April 2015.
The compilation photograph by Sarah and Simon, who are very keen amateur astronomers and astrophotographers, had 24,000 hits on Flickr alone and more than 4million, when combined with Google+.
Sarah described the experience as ‘simply awesome’.
“It was so eerie and beautiful as the moon became redder.
“It was also a chilly morning and the sky so clear that the air was dewy so we had to keep cleaning our equipment.
“In the end we actually got over 300 shots and were out until 5.30am so when we got back in, we literally went straight to bed.
“It was a challenge to go through all the photographs but it was straightforward to pick the definitive ones.
“At the end of the day though, it’s really about sharing the science and we absolutely love it.”
