The thousands filed out of the SECC sporting big grins lit up by the clear red moon.

BBC: Bono in action

It would take six months to reach the red planet, compared with three days to the moon.

ECONOMIST: The space shuttle

The spacecraft's mass at launch was just over 13 tonnes, but some 10 tonnes of this was the fuel it expected to use in the course of its mission to the Red Planet's largest moon.

BBC: Video tracks stricken Mars probe

By about 0420 GMT, the Moon was three-quarters obscured, still with the same dull-red tinge.

BBC: You are in: Sci/Tech

Mr. ROBERT GIBBS (White House Spokesman): As I understand it, professor Gates said he liked Red Stripe, and I believe Sergeant Crowley mentioned to the president that he liked Blue Moon.

NPR: What Brands Will Be Served At Beer Summit?

The professor and the policeman's beers are equally symbolic, Pirko says - Red Stripe with its Jamaican pedigree, and Blue Moon striving for craft beer credibility, though it's actually made by Coors.

NPR: What Brands Will Be Served At Beer Summit?