Moon watchers in the western US, Hawaii, Australia and a large part of Asia were treated Saturday to a rare celestial phenomenon: a total lunar eclipse.

For 51 minutes, the Earth's shadow completely blocked the moon. The moon took on a reddish glow, as some indirect sunlight continued to reach it after passing through the Earth's atmosphere. Since the atmosphere scatters blue light, only red light strikes the moon, giving it a crimson hue. A total lunar eclipse occurs when the moon goes through the long shadow cast by the Earth and is blocked from the sunlight that illuminates it.

The total eclipse was visible throughout Australia, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, China, Japan, and a large swath of Russia east of the Ural Mountains. The last total lunar eclipse was on June 15.