Rare blood moon lunar eclipse spotted across SoCal

Early risers in Southern California got a chance to see a total lunar eclipse before dawn Tuesday, as the full moon passed into Earth's shadow in a celestial event visible across the region.

The eclipse began at 12:45 a.m. Griffith Observatory livestreamed the lunar eclipse for viewers around the world.

Starting around 2 a.m., the shadow starting creeping across the face of the moon. The moon went through the remarkable transformation of first looking like someone took a bite out of the moon.

The shadow then slowly moved across the face of the full moon, making it look less and less full.

Totality - when the moon is fully within Earth's inner shadow - took place around 3:05 a.m. and lasted for about an hour.

Skies were clear in many parts of region, making the eclipse visible to the naked eye in Southern California. No telescopes or special eye protection are required, officials said.

A total lunar eclipse occurs when the moon moves directly into the dark inner shadow, or umbra, cast by Earth. As sunlight filters and bends through Earth's atmosphere, the moon typically takes on a copper or reddish hue -- the same effect that produces colorful sunrises and sunsets.

"That's all the world's sunrises and sunsets sort of filtering through the atmosphere and getting on to the face of the moon even though it's in shadow," said Griffith Observatory Director Dr. E.C. Krupp.

The observatory says lunar eclipses happen about every six months. Visibility depends on where you live and weather conditions.

If you missed Tuesday's celestial event, the next lunar eclipse will take place on Aug. 28. It will be a near total eclipse.

Griffith Observatory's broadcast of the lunar eclipse will be available for viewing on the observatory's YouTube channel.

City News Service contributed to this report.