Astonishing! Best photos from Friday's longest-ever Lunar Eclipse

The longest total lunar eclipse of the 21st century occurred on Friday, July 27, and was visible at a lot of places around the world. Prime viewing locations for the four-hour long event included Cairo, Egypt; Santorini, Greece; and Harare, Zimbabwe.

Unfortunately for Americans, one of the few parts of the globe that didn’t see the spectacle was the U.S. But it was an incredible sight for those in Eastern Europe, East Africa, the Middle East, Central or Southeast Asia and Western Australia.

The moon rises above the Palestinian village of Umm Tuba on Friday.

Also Read: Lunar Eclipse 2018: This is when and how Blood moon will make its appearance in India

A total lunar eclipse occurs when the earth passes directly between the sun and moon, making the moon fall into shadow. This phenomenon also causes what’s commonly called a “blood moon” because of the reddish glow the moon appears to emit during sunset and sunrise.

It was quite visible in this photo taken from Tel Aviv, Israel.

More from Tel Aviv; the lunar eclipse totality was one hour and 43 minutes, just shy of the longest possible totality: one hour and 47 minutes, according to Time.

Some red is evident as the moon rises behind the Anitkabir and the Kocatepe Mosque in Ankara, Turkey.

The silhouette of a plane dots this shot from Van, Turkey.

The full moon rises over the ancient temple of Poseidon in Cape Sounio, south of Athens, Greece.