Sky spectacle: Lunar eclipse features 'blood moon'

Doyle Rice | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption See lunar eclipse turn to 'blood moon' in 60 seconds The shortest lunar eclipse of the century (according to NASA) featured a rare sight. Viewers were treated to an intense red/orange glow that many call a "blood moon."

The first of two lunar eclipses visible in the U.S. this year took place early Saturday morning.

Skywatchers in the western third of the U.S. saw a total eclipse, while folks in the central and eastern U.S. only saw a partial eclipse before the moon sets.

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According to NASA, the total phase of the eclipse only lasted about five minutes, making it the shortest lunar eclipse of the century. In the West, the total eclipse began at 4:58 a.m. Pacific Time and ended 5 minutes later.

In the East, the partial eclipse lasted from 6:15 a.m. ET until the moon set.

According to Slooh.com, this eclipse was a "Pacific Ocean spectacle" best seen from eastern Australia, Japan, Hawaii, northeastern Russia and western Alaska.

For a total lunar eclipse to happen, the moon must be full, which means it is directly opposite the sun, with Earth in between, NASA reports. The eclipse happens when the moon moves into the shadow cast by the sun shining on Earth.

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A special treat: Most of the moon's glow showed some shade of intense orange or red, thus the "blood" moon nickname.

"That red light shining onto the moon is sunlight that has skimmed and bent through Earth's atmosphere: that is, from all the sunrises and sunsets that ring the world at any given moment," said Alan MacRobert of Sky and Telescope magazine.

The next — and final — lunar eclipse of 2015 will be on Sept. 28.