This morning's eclipse saw a blood moon rising over the earth[REUTERS]
Millions of people stayed up until the early hours to watch the 'Blood Moon' - with more than a quarter of a million watching on Express.co.uk.
Just after Mars reached its closest point to earth in six years, a distance of a mere 57.4 million miles, the total lunar eclipse spectacularly changed the colour of the moon at around 7am.
Stargazers in north and south America had the best view of the amazing spectacle and were the only ones able to see the phenomenon with the naked eye.
But those UK enthusiasts and millions of others across the rest of the world were able to view the eclipse on a live broadcast by NASA and online observatory community SLOOH.
The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood
King James Bible [Joel 2:31]
The eclipse was the first of four in the next two years - a rare astrological event called a Tetrad which some religious extremists believe heralds the end of the world.
The Bible predicts: 'The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD.'
And as Express.co.uk reported last week, the four successive total 'blood-red' lunar eclipses each followed by six full moons - will start this morning and finish on September 28 2015.
Pastor and author John Hagee, from San Antonio, Texas, has written a book on the Tetrad phenomenon. He believes tonight marks the dawn of a 'hugely significant event' for the world.
He says: "NASA has confirmed that the Tetrad has only happened three times in more than 500 years - and that it's going to happen now."
This composite image shows a sequence of the moon's transition during the total lunar eclipse [GETTY]
The moon glows a red hue during a total lunar eclipse [REUTERS]
The incredible alignment has only happened a handful of times in the last two thousand years but on each of the last three occasions it has coincided with a globally significant religious event.
The first Tetrad since the Middle Ages, in 1493, saw the expulsion of Jews by the Catholic Spanish Inquisition, which rocked western Europe.
The second coincided with the establishment of the State of Israel in 1949 and the last one occurred in 1967 precisely at the time of the Six-Day Arab–Israeli War.
The moon glows a red hue over the Goddess of Liberty statue atop the Capitol in Austin, Texas [REUTERS]
The moon is seen during a total lunar eclipse on April 15, 2014 in Miami, Florida [GETTY]
Mr Hagee added: "According to the Biblical prophecy, world history is about to change dramatically.
"To get four blood moons you need something absolutely extraordinary in astrological terms.
"What is so remarkable about these blood moons is that they specifically fulfill prophecies set out in the Bible.
"Even Jesus himself, in the Book of Luke, states there 'will be signs in the sun, moon and stars' and to 'lift up your heads for redemption draws nigh'.
"There's a sequence of prophetic events that the Bible says will happen. It does not, ever, give a timeline.
"It just says 'when you see these signs' - and four blood moons is a very significant one - 'the end of this age is coming."
The King James Bible warns the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the 'moon into blood' [DEA]
According to NASA, the moon will turn blood for a different, less dramatic reason.
During a lunar eclipse the Moon doesn't fully disappear from sight but moves into the darkest part of Earth's shadow, known as the umbra.
As a result, the earth blocks sunlight from reflecting off the moon's surface and instead it passes through the earth's atmosphere thus making the moon appear a reddish colour.
A composite picture shows the blood moon total lunar eclipse in seven stages [EPA]
This map shows where on earth the blood moon eclipse will be visible tonight [NASA]
NASA eclipse expert Fred Espenak said: "The most unique thing about the 2014-2015 Tetrad is that all of them are visible for all or parts of the USA."During the 21st century, there are 8 sets of Tetrads, so I would describe tetrads as a frequent occurrence in the current pattern of lunar eclipses.
"But this has not always been the case. During the three hundred year interval from 1600 to 1900, for instance, there were no Tetrads at all."
Professor Gary Shogren, a former pastor and New Testament expert, said: "You'll never go broke predicting the apocalypse."
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