Earlier this week, Earth’s shadow swept across the full
Moon in the year’s only
total lunar eclipse.
This stunning sequence combines images showing the Moon’s path across the night sky.
Each lunar image captures our planet’s shadow gradually engulfing the Moon, culminating in its red glow.
Sunlight
scatters and refracts as it passes through Earth’s atmosphere toward the Moon.
Shorter wavelength light (blue and green)
scatters more efficiently, leaving
red, orange, and yellow hues to paint the lunar surface.
Tsé Bit'a'í (”rock with wings”, also known as Shiprock), located in
Navajo Nation, provides a powerful
volcanic foreground central to this photo and
to stories of Navajo origin, adventure, and heroism.
As the first full moon of the
lunar new year, this eclipse held significance across cultures.
Visible from East Asia to North America, this eclipse united observers across great distances, a cosmic reminder that we share the same sky.