The eclipsed moon burns red above the bright lights of New York in stunning photos captured by amateur astronomer Alexander Krivenyshev.
Krivenyshev, the president of WorldTimeZone.com, took images of the total lunar eclipse Sunday evening (May 15) from Guttenberg, New Jersey, which is across the Hudson River from the Big Apple.
He persevered in cloudy conditions, Krivenyshev told Space.com via email, to get shots of the blood-red moon shining like a beacon in a light-polluted sky.
Related: Stunning photos of the 2022 Super Flower Blood Moon
The eclipse began at 9:32 p.m. EDT Sunday (01:32 GMT May 16) when the moon grazed the bright part of Earth’s shadow, known as the penumbra, and ended five hours later. The total eclipse phase, during which the moon was completely darkened by Earth’s heavier umbral shadow, lasted 85 minutes, the longest of any lunar eclipse in 33 years.
Earth’s closest neighbor temporarily turns copper-red during total lunar eclipses. This “blood moon” effect is caused by Earth’s atmosphere, which deflects some of the red light onto the lunar surface while scattering the shorter wavelength light. (No sunlight is hitting the moon directly at this point, of course; Earth is blocking the sun from the moon’s perspective.)
Last weekend’s sky show was best viewed from the Americas and parts of Western Europe and West Africa. It was the first total lunar eclipse of the year, but it won’t be the last. another will take place on 8 November. The November 8 lunar eclipse will be best viewed from Australia, eastern Asia, and the western United States.
If you’re hoping to photograph the moon or want to prepare for the upcoming total lunar eclipse, check out our best cameras for astrophotography and our best lenses for astrophotography. Our guides on how to photograph a lunar eclipse and how to photograph the moon with a camera, also have some helpful tips for planning your lunar photo shoot.
Editor’s note: If you take a great lunar eclipse photo (or your own eclipse webcast) and want to share it with Space.com readers, please submit your photo(s), comments, and your name and location at spacephotos@space.com.
Mike Wall is the author of “there(Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book about the search for extraterrestrial life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us on twitter @Spacedotcom Or on Facebook.