Sky-watchers in North and Central America and some parts of Europe and Asia enjoyed spectacular view of the total lunar eclipse, which lasted for 72 minutes till early December 21, 2011.

The lunar eclipse began on December 20th in the Pacific and Mountain Time zones and on December 21 in the Central and Eastern Time Zones.

A full moon eclipse occurs when Earth casts its shadow on full moon by blocking Sun’s rays. However, some indirect sunlight still pierces through, which is the reason why the moon gets its peculiar color

As Earth slipped between the Sun and moon, the colour of the moon’s surface changed from white to orange to red blood. This happens mainly because Earth's atmosphere affects the color of sunlight passing through it.

Solar eclipse is not safe to watch with naked eyes, but that is not the case with lunar eclipse as it is safe to watch without any protective glasses.

The next full moon eclipse will take place in June 2011, but it will not be observable from North America.