The rare lunar eclipse called a ''Super Blue Blood Moon,'' caused something of a sensation across the globe as the Earth's shadow fell across its natural satellite.

The eclipse happened during the rare occurrence of a second full moon in a single month, known as a ''blue moon,'' and during a point in the moon's orbit where it has reached its closest position to Earth, making it appear larger and brighter in the sky than normal, known as a ''super moon.''

The reddish appearance of the lunar surface - the moon's image does not vanish entirely during an eclipse - is due to rays of sunlight passing through Earth's atmosphere as the moon falls into our planet's shadow.

Light is bent or refracted as it passes around the Earth.

The last time all three conditions occurred for a single lunar eclipse visible from North America was in 1866.