Skywatchers have gathered in different parts of the globe to enjoy a total lunar eclipse that graced the skies for longer than usual.

For about an hour and a half on Sunday night into early Monday morning, the Moon was bathed in the reflected red and orange hues of the Earth’s sunsets and sunrises.

It was one of the longest totalities of the decade and the first so-called “Blood Moon” in a year.

Observers in the eastern half of North America and all of Central and South America had prime seats for the whole show, weather permitting.

Partial stages of the eclipse were visible across Africa, Europe and the Middle East.

A total eclipse occurs when the Earth passes directly between the moon and the sun and casts a shadow on our constant, cosmic companion.

The moon was expected to be 362,000km (225,000 miles) away at the peak of the eclipse.