The August full Moon, known as the Sturgeon Moon, illuminated the sky over the UK on Thursday night. The celestial display reached its peak pre-dawn across the UK.
A lunar eclipse also occurred, with the Sun, Earth, and Moon aligning. In many areas, the Moon took on a reddish appearance during the partial lunar eclipse.
During a partial lunar eclipse, the Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon, causing the Moon to move into the Earth's shadow. Sunlight passing through the Earth's atmosphere scatters blue wavelengths, allowing more longer wavelength red light to reach the Moon and reflect back to Earth, giving it a reddish colour.
The August full Moon is named the Sturgeon Moon due to the abundance of sturgeon fish in North American rivers around this time of year. The next full Moon, on 26 September, is called the Harvest or Corn Moon.