Lunar eclipse sees crowds come out with their telescopes

A total lunar eclipse beginning as the full moon is shadowed by the Earth on the arrival of the winter solstice, seen from Arlington, Virginia, USA Photograph: Bill Ingalls/NASA /EPA

The shadow of the Earth is seen on the Moon during a total lunar eclipse seen from near Calvine, Perthshire, Scotland Photograph: Russell Cheyne/Reuters

The Moon is engulfed in the Earth's shadow during the peak of a rare winter solstice total lunar eclipse as viewed through a telescope from Palm Beach Gardens, USA Photograph: Doug Murray/Reuters

On a Reykjavik parking lot, a crowd of about 30 people brave the bitter cold to gather around a telescope set up by the Amateur Astronomical Society to observe the Moon and stars. The Moon turned red in Reykjavik this morning, at the exact moment astronomers had predicted Photograph: Halldor Kolbeins/AFP/Getty Images

People wait for the eclipse near the village of Vuollerim, Lapland province, west of the costal city of Luleaa, Sweden Photograph: Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP/Getty Images

A Broadway street sign is illuminated in New York, while in the distance a total lunar eclipse occurs Photograph: Chris Hondros/Getty Images

Sunrise over Slemish mountain in the Braid valley, Co Antrim, Ireland, during the total lunar eclipse Photograph: Paul Faith/PA

The shadow of the Earth falls across the face of the Moon, with a six-pointed decorative star on a Christmas tree in the foreground, above Russia's far eastern city of Vladivostok during a full lunar eclipse Photograph: Yuri Maltsev/Reuters

The volcano Teide is pictured during a total lunar eclipse, in the National Park of Teide, in Tenerife Photograph: Desiree Martin/AFP/Getty Images

A double exposure picture shows the moon and the monument of The Savior of The World during a total lunar eclipse as seen from San Salvador, El Salvador Photograph: Jose Cabezas/AFP/Getty Images

The moon on its way to being totally eclipsed is seen with the Chrysler Building in the foreground, in New York Photograph: Seth Wenig/AP

A total lunar eclipse is seen as the full moon is shadowed by the Earth on the arrival of the winter solstice in Montevideo, Uruguay Photograph: Ivan Franco/EPA

The Moon is seen over a Christmas tree during a total lunar eclipse as seen from San Jose, Costa Rica Photograph: Juan Carlos Ulate/Reuters