Rare Total Lunar Eclipse Turns Moon Red in China

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Last night, people in many parts of the world were treated to something special in the night sky. A rare total lunar eclipse--the longest eclipse in 11 years--turned the moon red. And it caught the attention of these young Chinese moon-gazers.

Many amateur astronomers in China witnessed the "red moon" at dawn on Thursday. It's the longest-running and the maximum eclipse. The moon looked red because while the sunlight reflected by the moon entered the earth atmosphere, the blue light scattered backward from the sunlight looks red when seen from the earth.

In Pu'er, Yunnan Province, many amateur astronomers came to the best place for moon observation in advance with cameras, large and small. The moon didn't come out until 2:50 a.m. Thursday.

At about 3:20 a.m., the moon became completely red as if it was shy and then quickly hid itself in the clouds. Amateur astronomers seized the chance to have a date with this rare red moon.

"It's quite rewarding tonight. I saw a different moon which looked like a setting sun."

In Shijiazhuang, amateur astronomers were worried that they couldn't see the red moon due to a thundershower before the eclipse. However, at 02:22 a.m., the eclipse appeared as expected.

In Urumqi, students saw the rare red moon through an astronomical telescope on the rooftop of the school building with the help of their teacher.