The Moon spent just over three hours passing through Earth’s shadow. For those lucky to be away from the clouds, it was lovely to watch and no special equipment was needed.

We had some keen photographers from western Victoria out and about in the early hours and their pictures can be seen in the gallery below.

A Full Moon occurs every 29.5 days, but our months are longer (excluding February). This mismatch of timing means that every couple of years there comes a month with two Full Moons.

Blue moon: This is a reference for the second full moon in a month. This is because lunar months are a little shorter than solar ones leading to an extra moon during the year.

Super moon: This happens when the moon is its closest to the earth during its orbit. Because of this the moon will appear much bigger in the sky and about 30 per cent brighter.

Blood moon: The blood colour of the moon happens during a lunar eclipse as the sun, earth and moon align while the moon passes through the earth’s shadow. The red colour is caused by sunlight refracting around the earth.

For more, read here.