Hundreds of millions of stargazers in North and South America were wowed by a celestial sight where the moon took on an eerie blood-red color in what was considered as the first total lunar eclipse of the year.

The spectacle lasted for about three hours and thirty minutes between Monday night and early Tuesday.  During this time the earth's shadow darkened the face of the moon, giving it a blood-red hue that had millions of stargazers staying up late for the event.

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The Blood-Moon peaked at 3 a.m. Eastern Time and it took 78 minutes for the moon to pass through the Earth's shadow. This left stargazers from the Americas, Hawaii and parts of Alaska a lengthy time of enjoying a full view of the total lunar eclipse.

"It was definitely worth the late night wait," said one stargazer from Brazil.

"This is something that does not happen every day and with such a clear sky, there was no reason for me to go out and just lay in the garden and watch the Blood Moon... it was breathtaking," said an American stargazer on her Facebook page.

For those who missed the Blood-Moon, no need to fret. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said the Blood Moon on 14 April was just the first of four total lunar eclipses that will take place between April this year and September next year.

 Last Tuesday's Blood Moon, which occurred on the same night that the Earth made its closest approach of Mars, however, will not happen in the next few years. Mars was only 57.4 million miles away from Earth on Monday night.

 Astronomer Bob Berman said what happened in the sky last Monday and early Tuesday will not happen again for the rest of our lives.

"We will never again get the chance to see a total lunar eclipse occurring at the same night that Mars takes its closest approach of Earth.