Eagle eyed stargazers were out in force in the early hours of Wednesday morning to catch a glimpse of a rare partial lunar eclipse.

The spectacle was visible in clear skies across North America and South America on Tuesday night, and in Africa and Europe on Wednesday morning.

A partial lunar eclipse happens when the Earth passes between the sun and moon, casting a shadow that darkens a sliver of the moon and appears to take a bite out of it.

Phil Waldron also captured the rare sightPhil Waldron also captured the rare sight (Image: Phil Waldron) This particular partial lunar eclipse was all the more special as it coincided with a supermoon.

A supermoon is a full moon that occurs when the moon is at its closest to earth in its orbit.

The closeness of the moon results in a slightly larger-than-usual apparent size of the moon as viewed from earth.

Photographers and sky watchers gathered across Cumbria to capture this memorable lunar occasion.

A 'moon rise' in the Lake DistrictA 'moon rise' in the Lake District (Image: Jonny Gios Photography) For an even more striking lunar sight, sky watchers can set their calendars for March 13.

The moon will be totally eclipsed by the Earth’s shadow and will be painted red by stray bits of sunlight filtering through Earth’s atmosphere.

Cumbria is one of the best places in the country to capture the skies at night due to its large rural areas which suffer from very small levels of light pollution.

The full moon on display in CumbriaThe full moon on display in Cumbria (Image: Kenny Blackwell) Over the past year, photographers and stargazers have been able to see stunning displays of the northern lights and last month’s ‘blue moon’.

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Early autumn is one of the best times to see the aurora in Cumbria and alerts are often issued for evenings when they will be at their most visible.