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Thousands of people last night enjoyed the most spectacular lunar eclipse in more than a decade.

The first total eclipse of the moon in three years was visible across swathes of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland last night thanks to crisp weather and clear skies. The surface of the full Moon first went dark before turning a coppery red, to the delight of thousands of people who had stayed up to watch the display.

The Moon started to become obscured from 20.18 GMT and was at its height between 22.44 and 23.48 last night. Rainy weather early on cleared up during the course of yesterday as a ridge of high pressure spread up from the south-west.

“Large tracts of England and Wales had no cloud at all by the time it started. Conditions were perfect for a lunar eclipse," said a spokesman for MeteoGroup UK. "There was some cloud over parts of Kent and Sussex and there were rain showers over western Scotland that may have obscured it, but apart from that there were good views to be had across the whole of the UK.”

The eclipse occurred because the Earth passed directly between the Moon and the Sun. Light scattering through the Earth’s atmosphere was reduced to predominantly-red wavelengths, which reflect off the lunar surface.

In ancient times a “blood Moon” was viewed with dread and seen as an omen of disaster or great change. This year’s lunar eclipse could be seen most clearly from Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

Last night's eclipse was regarded by astronomers as one of the most memorable in more than 15 years. After the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1992, so much volcanic ash was released into the atmosphere that the eclipsed Moon that year was nearly invisible. Since the Earth has not had a major eruption for some years, last night’s eclipse was a more impressive sight.

Robin Scagell, from the Society for Popular Astronomy, said: “This is one of the best lunar eclipses from Britain for years. It was fascinating to watch the Moon’s graceful movement through the shadow of the Earth and check its coppery glow.”

Dr Ian Morison, from the University of Manchester’s Jodrell Bank Observatory, said: “If the Earth had no atmosphere the Moon would become invisible when it fully enters the Earth’s shadow. However, light refracted and scattered through the atmosphere can still illuminate the Moon, though with far reduced brightness.

“As blue light is scattered by the atmosphere more than red light - which is why our skies are blue - the light that remains is predominantly red and orange, the colour of the Sun when close to the horizon.

"If there were astronauts on the surface of the Moon looking towards the Earth during a total lunar eclipse, they would see a black disc surrounded by a bright red ring. It is the light from this ring that we see reflected by the Moon’s surface.”

The reason an eclipse does not happen every time there is a full Moon is that the Moon’s orbit is inclined at five degrees to the Earth’s orbital path around the Sun, as a result, the Earth’s shadow usually passes above or below the Moon.

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