WASHINGTON - An unusual set of celestial circumstances came together on Sunday night and the wee hours of Monday for skywatchers in Europe, Africa and the Americas, where the moon was fully obscured before lighting up again with a faint red glow.

In the streets of Mexico City, Los Angeles and Paris and in the Moroccan desert, moon gazers turned to the sky to observe the phenomenon, around midnight in the Americas, and shortly before dawn in Europe and Africa.

The eclipse lasted about three hours: During the first hour, the full moon was gradually swallowed up by the shadow of the Earth, then an hour of total eclipse where it was not invisible but instead appeared tinted in hues of red, orange and pink, followed finally by its full reemergence, bright and shining.

The moon, Earth and Sun lined up to create the eclipse, which was visible throughout North and South America, where skies were clear.

The full moon appeared bigger than normal because it was closer to the Earth - about 358,000 kilometers away - earning it the nickname "super moon".

Other monikers include "wolf moon", a traditional way of coining an eclipse in the month of January, and a "blood moon" because of its rusty, red color. Hence the name for this year's event: A "super blood wolf moon".

At its peak, where night skies were clear of clouds, Venus and Jupiter shone brightly in the night sky.

Not everyone was fortunate: In London, astronomy enthusiasts' hopes were dashed by a cloudy night.

During a lunar eclipse, the moon appears red because the light of the Sun no longer directly illuminates it, since Earth is passing in between the moon and Sun.