Devotees in Varanasi and Allahabad take holy dip in Ganga river after Lunar eclipse

Nearly 2,000 curious skygazers converged at New Delhi's Nehru Planetarium to witness the century's longest lunar eclipse, but had to return disappointed as clouds completely surrounded the moon as if to conceal it.

The skies turned ember but the so-called "blood moon", when the Earth's natural satellite turns strikingly red, remained elusive. Enthusiasts anxiously waited until past midnight for clouds to give way to the spectacular event to become visible.

Many of them had brought their telescopes.

Several parts of north India, including Delhi, have been witnessing monsoon rains for the past a few days. The annual weather pattern prevented people from enjoying the spectacular celestial event witnessed across several parts of the world.

The "totality" period, when light from the moon is totally obscured, started at 10:53 PM and lasted for 103 minutes (1 hour and 43 minutes).