10 Awesome Pictures of the Super Blue Blood Moon

…In Case you Slept Through It

Did you get up and take a gander at that lunar event – the Super Blue Blood Moon? Here in Houston the best times to view it were 6:15 a.m. to 6:30 a.m. – which, for an astro event is a pretty reasonable time. I still opted for sleep. My little family got up and said it was pretty neat-o but, from our house, since it was low in the Western sky, it was hard to see.

Why it’s Cool

Every month there is a “supermoon.” A supermoon simply refers to the coincidence of a full moon occurring when the moon is closest to the earth, in its elliptic orbit (the fancy word for this is perigee). This causes the moon to appear larger.

A “blue moon” is when there are two full moons in one month. Hence, the term “once in a blue moon” because while it happens it does not happen often.

A “blood moon” is in reference to the red hue the moon takes on during a lunar eclipse. A lunar eclipse being when the moon fully passes into the earth’s shadow (who knew a shadow could be red?).

So, it’s cool to have all three happen at once, a lunar trifecta, if you will.

#astrophotography for the win

People take amazing pictures of the skies. They stay up late, spend untold amounts of money on crazy equipment, and get mindblowing photographs. They are astrophotographers. As you might expect they were out in full force last night here are some awesome shots they got!

1. bastosmark_wsdsm Took this amazing shot of the moon in full blush. The details are astounding!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BeniKlsHKlh/?tagged=astrophotography

2. kyleromine1130 zoomed in and took this shot of the Sea of Serenity and Sea of Tranquility on the moon.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BemgdkAggmu/?taken-by=kyleromine1130

3. geoff.solidum took a sweet shot of the moon through the trees.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BeniQvElouF/?tagged=astrophotography

4. s.p.mcfarland caught a gorgeous time-lapse over still waters.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BeniEsYFV7B/?tagged=astrophotography

5. I love j_pedrobessa’s shot from Portugal over a sand dune. Gorgeous!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BenhvDKnbQ7/?tagged=astrophotography

6. I’m a sucker for boats. This shot from jazzbennett in Victoria is so cool. I love how the masts seem to be pointing directly at the moon.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BenhgljAuok/?tagged=astrophotography