People across the world witnessed a rare celestial show as the first total lunar eclipse of 2014 turned the moon a dark reddish colour.

Explaining why the moon turned read during this total lunar eclipse, space.com said the moon reflects sunrises and sunsets that are taking place across the globe: "While the moon is in shadow, some light from the sun shines through Earth's atmosphere."

"Red light - unlike other colours that are blocked and scattered - is better able to penetrate the atmosphere, which creates this "bloody" effect.

People who missed out on the blood moon have three more chances to see the rare cosmic event. Last night's marked the start of an eclipse tetrad, where four total lunar eclipses take place back to back. These will occur over the next 18 months.

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