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Nature

People around the world are sharing stunning photos of today's 'super flower blood moon'

People around the world are sharing stunning photos of today's 'super flower blood moon'
Stargazers of Hawaii/Facebook, Kaleb Johnston/Twitter

Two celestial events collided last night and people around the world did their best to capture the cool phenomena on film.

The "super flower blood moon" was one of the few supermoons this year, when the moon appears to be much larger and brighter in the sky due to its position closer to Earth. The "flower" part of the moniker is simply because it's a full moon happening in the month of May. The "blood" part comes from the reddish hue cast over the moon due to a total lunar eclipse that happened to coincide with the supermoon. (The total eclipse was only visible in some regions, including the Western U.S.)

In other words, the moon was a huge red ball in the sky last night, creating a natural show for us earthlings.

If you missed it in real life, these photos of the super flower blood moon are the next best thing.

A few clouds couldn't completely cover the glowing orange moon over Stonehenge in the U.K.

Stargazers of Hawaii captured a tri-tone moon that looks positively otherworldly. The reddish tint is caused by sunlight filtering through the earth's atmosphere during the eclipse, according to NASA.

Ankara, Turkey didn't get the blood part of the supermoon, but it was still stunning.

The Statue of Liberty got quite a show in New York.

If that's not cool enough, NPR shared a time-lapse video of the supermoon setting over Lady Liberty.

Joshua Tree National Park enjoyed its moon blended with an ethereal sunset or sunrise.

Sometimes a camera lens can capture things that the naked eye cannot. Astrophotographers with the right equipment and skills can give us a glimpse of what's really out there—celestial beauty blocked by light pollution and the limitations of our own visual abilities.

The photographer who created this image, Kaleb Johnston, said on Twitter that it was a composite taken with two exposures, one to highlight the Milky Way and the other to highlight the details of the moon.

(Here's the moon-focused shot with a bit of an explanation for why he was able to get such a great capture of it in New Zealand.)

Absolutely incredible.

So many cool photos of the same moon from around the world.

While supermoons aren't all that rare and lunar eclipses aren't that rare, the two happening at the same time is something special. With all of the challenges facing humanity, the fact that we can—and do—all marvel together when nature puts on a sky show for us is a cosmic reminder of how connected we really are.

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