Thousands have endured sub-zero temperatures in US and parts of Europe to see rare celestial event

Thousands of stargazers across the northern hemisphere have battled sub-freezing temperatures to catch a glimpse of a lunar extravaganza known as a super blood wolf moon.

The rare celestial event takes places when the moon is positioned slightly closer to the Earth than normal, and appears slightly bigger and brighter than normal – a phenomenon called a super moon. During the total eclipse, the moon was expected to give off a coppery red glow on the lunar surface as it slips into Earth’s shadow, known as a blood moon.