NEW YORK — The full moon entered the shadow of the Earth early this morning, leading to a total lunar eclipse.

Centuries ago, such an event was thought to be caused by a dragon eating the moon, said Prof. Irving Robbins, director of the Astrophysical Observatory at the College of Staten Island (CSI), Willowbrook.

The eclipse began at 1:33 a.m.

The moon then slowly entered the Earth’s shadow and was completely engulfed at 2:41 a.m. The moon remained in the shadow until 3:53 a.m.

This phenomenon “scared the hell out of ancient people, who would then beat their drums to scare away the dragon,” Dr. Robbins said.

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