Did the skies above you cooperate this morning to see the total lunar eclipse? Mine did not, and Fraser reports he was clouded out as well. But thankfully, we can live vicariously through all of the wonderful friends and astrophotographers who have shared their jaw-dropping photos of the blood Moon, Beaver Moon total lunar eclipse. This is the last total lunar eclipse until March 14, 2025.
Our lead image, a composite from University of Arizona Professor Eliot Herman shows a series of views throughout the eclipse. “This Lunar eclipse had soft gradations of color that was quite beautiful,” Herman said on Flickr. “This series of photos begins just before totality and ends just after totality. All images are 15 images stacked captured with a Questar telescope, Baader UV/IR filter, and a Nikon Z7II.”
Here’s a gorgeous shot from one of our all-time favorite astrophotographers, Alan Dyer from Alberta, Canada shows a wide-angle view of several objects in the night sky. “It was amazing that we got to see the eclipse as it had been snowing all day, leaving us with several inches of new snow, in the first big snowfall of the season,” Dyer said on Flickr. “And as it cleared the temperature dropped to -25° C. But … I got the eclipse — the first I was able to watch from home in more than a decade.”
As Dyer said, this is a gathering of many red stars, planets and the rare red Moon. “The red Moon at right beside the stars of the northern winter sky and Milky Way, plus with bright red Mars at top. Above and left of the Moon is the blue Pleiades star cluster, while below it and to the left is the larger Hyades cluster with reddish Aldebaran in Taurus. The stars of Orion are left of centre, including reddish Betelgeuse, while at far left are the two Dog Stars: Procyon, at top, in Canis Minor, and Sirius, at bottom, in Canis Major.”
If you were lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time, like Takizawa Gra, you could see an occulation of the planet Uranus by the eclipsed Moon. What a sight!
Nate Atkinson took this shot from his backyard in central Illinois, a 10-second exposure, handheld with his iPhone 14 pro.
Here are more great shots from our friends on social media. Jason Major reminded us there’s something else going on today in the U.S. — don’t forget to vote!
Our own David Dickinson’s views:
Astronomer Dean Regas from the Cincinnati Observatory had wonderfully clear skies for his view:
If you missed the eclipse, NASA has put together this timelapse video of the views:
Thanks to all who shared their photos! What’s coming up next in the sky? Check out our top astronomical events for 2022 before the year comes to an end!