These stunning images of last week’s blood moon were captured by an Iraqi astrophotographer with a fast-growing online following.

Darya Kawa Mirza, 28, who comes from Erbil, capital of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, shares his astrophotography images on Instagram where he boasts a following of 131,000.

After skywatchers were treated to a blood moon, also known as a hunter’s moon, on 21st October, Darya shared several stunning snaps with the message: “What is Hunter’s Moon? Also called the blood moon or sanguine moon, it is the first full moon of fall in the Northern Hemisphere.

“As autumn settles in and crops are cleared from the field, hunters journey into the twilight to stock up on fattening deer – guided by the light of a full moon, known as the Hunter’s Moon.”

In an exclusive interview, Darya told Newsflash: “I love the night sky, the stars and the planets, and exploring the unknown.”

When asked how he achieves his perfectly-timed snaps, Darya said: “Astrophotography is completely different from normal photography, and you have to be patient, calm, waiting for the best moment.

“Sometimes, even after working on a single image for a month, most pictures are far from perfect and 95 percent will go in the bin.

“Every month we have a different full moon, some years it is 12 and others 13, it depends mainly on the number of full moons in that year and hunter’s moon is no exception.

“This year, I got some great shots of hunter’s moon because, during a full moon at this time, the moon is at its highest point above the horizon, leading to less atmospheric turbulence.”

With regards to equipment and filters with his photography, the astrophotographer, who is currently studying for a Master of Science degree at university, said: “I don’t use filters for my images, only raw data editing in Photoshop or another type of software.

“There are several devices I use, like my cameras (Canon EOS 6D and Canon EOS 1200D) and lenses Canon EF 24-105mm, Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM, and Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM.

“I also use a Celestron Astro Master 114eq telescope and a Celestron NexStar 8SE telescope.”

As for his plans for the future, Darya told Newsflash: “I have some ideas for what I would like to do, but for now I am just going to focus on my studies and what I am currently doing.”