A 'bloody' lunar eclipse

Star-gazers in Australia were treated to a rare sight when the moon turned blood-red because of a lunar eclipse.Crowds gathered at the Sydney Observatory to watch as the Earth's shadow crept across the moon's surface, turning it first red and then orange as it slowly eclipsed it.Curator of Astronomy at Sydney Observatory, Nick Lomb, explained why the moon changes colour during the eclipse.He said: "It's light that's been scattered through the earth's atmosphere and falling onto the moon."The light is coming through the areas on the earth where it's either sunrise or sunset."Sunset and sunrise are red, so it is red light that is falling onto the moon."The total lunar eclipse was also visible in North and South America, especially in the West.However enthusiasts who gathered in front of the Buenos Aires planetarium to witness the second full lunar eclipse of the year, said cloudy conditions meant that they could not fully appreciate the phenomenon.© Independent Television News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.

ITN | August 28, 2007

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