Blood moon rises: Incredible pictures of total lunar eclipse reveal stunning red disc illuminating the night sky

The first of four 'blood moon' eclipses lived up to expectations, proving an eerie sight across North and South America overnight as the moon was illuminated a deep red, the Daily Mail reports.

The four-stage event, known as a 'Tetrad', is also believed to mark the the beginning of significant events - even the the end of the world - in some religions.

The awe-inspiring spectacle occurs when the Earth's shadow passes over the moon - and it will happen three more times over the next two years as part of this cycle. The next Tetrad cycle won't occur until 2032.

Astronomers in North and South America are viewing the blood moon from 2.06 EST (7.06 GMT) to around 4.24 EST (9.24 GMT), Sky News reported.

Some Christians are concerned that the celestial event could mark the start of terrible events, based on a passage from the Bible that says: 'The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord comes.'

Although lunar eclipses happen multiple times in a year during a full moon, this eclipse is a particularly fortunate viewing opportunity for North America.

Since the Earth's Western Hemisphere is facing the moon during the eclipse, the continent was in prime position to view it from start to finish. The eclipse also coincided with night time in North America.

The entire continent won't be able to witness a full lunar eclipse in its entirety again until 2019.

'Sometimes they'll happen and you'll have to be somewhere else on Earth to see them,' Noah Petro, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter deputy project scientist at Nasa's Goddard Space Flight Centre, said before the event.

It's not often that we get a chance to see our planet's shadow, but a lunar eclipse gives us a fleeting glimpse. During these rare events, the full moon rapidly darkens and then glows red.

At the eclipse's peak the moon entered the Earth's full shadow, the umbra. At this stage, the Earth's atmosphere scattered the sun's red visible light - the same process that turns the sky red at sunset.

As a result, the red light reflected off the moon's surface, casting a reddish rust hue over it.

'It's a projection of all the Earth's sunsets and sunrises onto the moon,' Mr Petro said.

'It's a very subtle effect, and if any part of the moon is illuminated in the sun, you can't really see it.'

'They don't happen all the time, and the sky has to be clear. It really gives you a chance to look at the moon changing.'