See stunning photos of the longest 'blood moon' lunar eclipse of the century that swept across the Eastern Hemisphere

REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

On the night of July 27 and the early morning hours of July 28, sky-watchers across the Eastern Hemisphere were treated to the longest lunar eclipse set to occur in the 21st century.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the sun, Earth, and moon are directly aligned, and the moon's orbit brings it directly into Earth's shadow. During the eclipse, the moon will pass through the darkest region of Earth's shadow, known as the umbra, which will give the moon a reddish "blood moon" sheen.

The eclipse, which was visible across parts of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, happened at the same time as the moon's apogee — which is when the moon hits its furthest point from Earth in its monthly orbit.

The eclipse colored the moon orange-red due to sunlight passing through our planet's atmosphere and bouncing off the moon.

See below for stunning pictures of the eclipse from around the world:

Skywatchers in Europe and Africa were first to see the fantastic eclipse.

This particular eclipse occurred during what's called a "micro" moon, or the opposite of a super moon.

Source: Business Insider

This happens because the moon's orbit isn't perfectly circular, so it appears larger at times and smaller at others during its roughly 29-day-long orbit around Earth.

Source: Business Insider 

See Also:

• Why the moon turns red during a total lunar eclipse
• The longest total lunar eclipse in a century is about to happen — here's how Earth will color the moon blood-red
• A glowing red 'blood moon' this week will be the longest lunar eclipse in a century — here's how to see it

SEE ALSO: A glowing red 'blood moon' this week will be the longest lunar eclipse in a century — here's how to see it