Cosmic gazing: Eclipses in 2015
Eclipses have inspired wonder, fear and more interest than any other event in astronomy.
A solar eclipse always happens within two weeks of a lunar eclipse or vice versa. In 2015 there was a total solar eclipse March 20, followed by a "Blood Moon" total lunar eclipse April 4.
Photo: A partially eclipsed full moon sets behind a statue of a Kansas Indian at the statehouse in Topeka, Kansas, April 4, 2015.
The moment when the moon was completely obscured by Earth’s shadow lasted several minutes, making it the shortest lunar eclipse of the century.
Lunar eclipse - New Zealand
A "Blood Moon" appears during a total lunar eclipse in Auckland, New Zealand, April 4, 2015.
A "Blood Moon" is sometimes used to describe a total lunar eclipse. Total lunar eclipses are rare, with perhaps one in three being total.
Lunar eclipse - India
A young boy looks into a telescope to watch a lunar eclipse outside a planetarium in Gauhati, India, Saturday, April 4, 2015.
Lunar eclipse - Japan
A total lunar eclipse is seen above cherry blossoms in Shiraishi, Miyagi prefecture, Japan, April 4, 2015.
Skygazers in part of the Pacific Rim enjoyed an "unusually brief" total eclipse of the moon.
Lunar eclipse - India
Indians watch the lunar eclipse from the banks of River Kuakhai on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar, India, April 4, 2015.
Lunar eclipse - Japan
A combination photo shows the shadow falling on the moon, left and 2nd left, as it undergoes a total lunar eclipse, center, and after the total lunar eclipse, 2nd right and right, from Sendai, Miyagi prefecture, Japan, April 4, 2015.
This eclipse, a "Pacific Ocean spectacle," was best viewed from Japan, Australia, Hawaii and Western Alaska.
Lunar eclipse - California
The lunar eclipse is seen over San Jose city in Rancho Redondo, California, April 4, 2015.
Lunar eclipse - Bangkok
A total lunar eclipse is seen above a swan statue in Nakhon Pathom province on the outskirts of Bangkok April 4, 2015.
Lunar eclipse
The moon is seen behind downtown high-rise buildings during the shortest total lunar eclipse of the century before dawn in Los Angeles April 4, 2015.
This eclipse is particularly brief because the moon is passing through the upper part of the Earth's circular shadow rather than across the middle, which would have made it last longer.
Solar eclipse - Scotland
Members of the Galloway Forest Astronomical Society prepare their equipment the day before the solar eclipse in Newton Stewart, Scotland, March 19, 2015.
Solar eclipse - London
Students from Saint Ursula's Convent Secondary School in Greenwich wear protective glasses at the Royal Observatory Greenwich in London, England, March 20, 2015.
Hundreds of people gathered outside hoping see a near total solar eclipse.
A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the sun and the Earth.
Solar eclipse
The turbulent surface of the sun and its swirling corona during the total solar eclipse was photographed from space by the European Space Agency's Proba-2, March 20, 2015.
The mini satellite had a ringside seat from orbit using it's SWAP imager to capture the moon passing in front of the sun.
Solar eclipse
Two men use welding masks to view the moon crossing the sun causing a solar eclipse at St. Michael's Mount near Penzance, England, March 20, 2015.
Solar eclipses draw celebratory crowds and people find inventive ways to protect their eyes.
Solar eclipse - London
A TV presenter wears protective glasses while speaking on camera in Parliament Square during a solar eclipse in London March 20, 2015.
Solar eclipse - Kosovo
A man uses a dental X-ray as a makeshift protective tool to watch a solar eclipse in Pristina, Kosovo, March 20, 2015.
Solar eclipse - Norway
A total solar eclipse is seen in Longyearbyen on Svalbard March 20, 2015.
The total eclipse of the sun was only visible in the Faroe Islands and the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard in the Arctic Ocean.
Solar eclipse - Germany
A boy, wearing a taped special filter over his eye, watches a partial solar eclipse in Kassel, central Germany, March 20, 2015.
The eclipse was visible to varying degrees depending on weather conditions across most of Europe, northern Africa, northwest Asia and the Middle East, before finishing its show close to the North Pole.
Solar eclipse - Munich
People use special glasses to look into the sky at a solar eclipse in Munich, Germany, March 20, 2015.
Solar eclipse
This combo photo shows different phases of the solar eclipse seen from Longyearbyen, Svalbard, an archipelago administered by Norway, March 20, 2015.
Solar eclipse - Cairo
People look up to view a partial solar eclipse around the Giza Pyramids, on the outskirts of Cairo, March 20, 2015.
A partial eclipse was visible on the first day of northern spring across parts of Africa, Europe and Asia. The total eclipse of the sun was only visible in the Faroe Islands and the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard in the Arctic Ocean.
Solar eclipse - London
A girl holds a homemade protective viewing box outside The Royal Observatory during a partial solar eclipse in Greenwich, southeast London, March 20, 2015.
Solar eclipse - Milan
A partial solar eclipse of the sun is visible next to a statue at Milan's cathedral in Italy March 20, 2015.
Solar eclipse - Greece
People use binoculars to watch a partial solar eclipse in Thessaloniki, Greece, March 20, 2015.
Solar eclipse - Lithuania
A person watches the partial solar eclipse using a DVD for protection in Vilnius, Lithuania, March 20, 2015.
Solar eclipse - Germany
People on Zugspitze Mountain use a survival blanket to look into the sky at a partial solar eclipse in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, March 20, 2015.
Solar eclipse - Wales
A rare partial solar eclipse is seen over Tonypandy in South Wales March 20, 2015.
The last significant solar eclipse visible from the U.K. was Aug. 11, 1999.
Solar eclipse - France
People use giant protective glasses to watch a solar eclipse at the Cité de l'Espace (Space City) in Toulouse, France, March 20, 2015.
Solar eclipse - Spain
A person uses a pair of binoculars to watch the moon pass in front of the sun, marking a total eclipse, the only one this year, in Vigo, northwestern Spain, March 20, 2015.
The Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, located 800 miles from the North Pole, is, along with the Faroe Islands, the only place the total eclipse was visible with three minutes of total darkness when the moon totally blocked the sun.
Solar eclipse - Munich
A family from Oregon uses special glasses on Marianplatz to look into the sky at a partial solar eclipse in Munich, Germany, March 20, 2015.
Solar eclipse - England
A partial solar eclipse is seen from near Bridgwater, in southwestern England, March 20, 2015.