Bodypaint3d

Unless you were around in 1638, it’s unlikely you’ve ever seen anything quite like this.

The moon turned blood-red over a crisp white landscape yesterday in the first lunar eclipse on the winter solstice for nearly 400 years.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth, Sun and Moon are in line and the Earth’s shadow moves across the surface of the full moon.

Sunlight that has passed through the earth’s atmosphere makes the moon appear orange, brown, red or black. Just after 6.30am yesterday, the shadow appeared as a tiny bite in one side of the moon.

This spectacular picture of the lunar eclispe was captured over the snow-covered fields high in the Pennines above Holmbridge, West Yorkshire

By 7.25am, this was the spectacular scene high in the Pennines above Holmbridge, West Yorkshire, before the moon disappeared at the break of day.

The striking red lines cutting across the landscape are a less natural phenomenon – car tail lights, in a trail captured by thecamera’s eight-second exposure.

The total eclipse began at 7.40am, with the moon close to the western horizon, and was expected to last for around 73 minutes.

Some of the best images in the UK came from Scotland where viewers were treated to the sight of the moon rising in the morning sky, gradually being eaten away over the course of an hour.

The winter solstice lunar eclipse as seen over rooftops and Horton Park mosque, Bradford

The red moon is viewed with a telescope from Palm Beach Gardens, US, left, while the moon begins to be covered by the Earth's shadow in Edinburgh

A picture taken in New York, shows the moon as the total eclipse nears its peak

while in Silver Spring, Maryland, the moon turns a deep red

In the US, spectacular images of the moon turning blood red greeted lucky skygazers.

During a lunar eclipse the earth, sun and moon are almost exactly in line with each other. As they line up, the earth’s shadow passes across the surface of the full moon.

At first the shadow appears as a tiny bite in one side of the moon, before it engulfs the moon entirely.

Once the moon has moved into the shadow it is lit by sunlight that has passed through the earth’s atmosphere.

The sunlight that hits the craters and plains of the lunar surface has a spooky reddish tinge.

And this is the first time that one has taken place on the winter solstice – the shortest day of the year – since 1638, so the omens could be particularly strong.

The blood-red moon and the monument of The Savior of The World during a total lunar eclipse as seen from San Salvador last night

The lunar eclipse is visible in Scottish Borders as the moon starts to move into the Earth's shadow

The moon in various stages of a total lunar eclipse this morning as seen from Mexico City

Shrouded in darkness: Part of the moon is in darkness as the earth's shadow moves across it during today's lunar eclipse in this image taken from Dallas

Pacman-like: A wedge of the moon is obscured by shadow in this image taken from Great Falls, Virginia

It is impossible to predict the colour of a lunar eclipse in advance. On rare occasions it goes entirely black.

But it can appear copper, brown or blood red depending on how far it goes into shadow and whether the atmosphere is polluted with dust from volcanoes.

Since our ancestors first gazed at the night sky, a total lunar eclipse has been regarded as one of the most auspicious events of the celestial calendar.

From southern parts of the UK, the initial partial phase and the beginning of what is known as 'totality' were visible, but the moon dropped down into the western sky as dawn approached.

From those locations, when totality begins, the moon was low in the west-north-western sky, close to the horizon and in a rapidly brightening sky.

From locations in Scotland and Northern Ireland, totality should have been visible in its entirety, but the moon will have been low after the time of greatest eclipse.

During totality the moon tracks through the northern part of the Earth's dark umbral shadow, so the southern half will appear considerably darker than the northern part.