Missed the Total Lunar Eclipse? See Best Photos of The Surreal Blood Moon Spectacle

Between roughly 6 am and 7 am EST, Earth’s natural satellite, the Moon, dipped into the planet’s shadows, uncannily glowing red in the midnight skies. For about 5 hours and 39 minutes, skywatchers remained glued to cameras and smartphones, refusing to miss out on the opportunity to capture the rare spectacle, rare because of the Moon’s unusual alignment with the rising Sun, a phenomenon astronomers call “selenelion.” Some residents just lounged back in their gardens and on rooftops, witnessing the crimson Moon with their naked eyes. Varying moods of the sky across America, Asia, Australia, and the Pacific resulted in mixed shots now making rounds on social media.

In the Pacific Northwest, the view was obstructed slightly by the cloudy cover and somber rain. In South Tucson, Arizona, photographer John captured the view at the Santa Cruz Catholic Church. Shared by SpaceWeather’s gallery, the view is a composite of photos he captured in the two-minute interval between 3:48 and 5:25 am. The photo displays an inky blue sky, lit with trails of stars. Passing above the cross sign in the cream-colored bell tower, the Moon appears to transition from faint orange to bright red, which eventually fades away into pale white. With intricate Islamic lattice designs and pink illumination at its center, the tower stands back as a looming watchtower, the guardian of celestial light.

In Texas, too, the “bank of clouds” rolling in shrouded the Moon just before the maximum totality phase. In a stunning shot recorded from the skies of Bee County, near Beesville, Cissy Beasley captures the raw, blood-red glare of the Moon silhouetted against a black sky. The photo is featured in EarthSky Community. The clouds, however, kept the Moon veiled from human eyes for the remainder of the eclipse.

Dubbed “Worm Moon,” the celestial spectacle also prompted people to slow down, sit back, and engage in deep self-reflections as astrologers describe this phase as a “karmic checkpoint,” a bridge and transition that might make sensitive people feel heavy emotions. Across Australia, New Zealand, and around the world, over 3 billion curious skygazers clambered to their terraces, balconies, and gardens to catch a glimpse, per Space.com.

Greg Skyles shared some photographs from Western Australia, capturing an almost ghostly view of the “Blood Moon,” a ball of soft glowing fire suspended within the gnarly eucalyptus branches silhouetted black against the charcoal-hued sky. On the upper right rim of the Moon appears a notorious glint of light, setting the mood.

Appearances also varied across regions, mostly sticking to a red-colored Moon, generated by Rayleigh scattering, a scientific phenomenon in which the Sun’s light crashing on Earth’s surface projects a reddish halo on the satellite. “It’s as if all the world’s sunrises and sunsets are projected onto the Moon,” NASA describes. On X, a resident who goes by @Onpurposefarm, described the Moon as a “tiny beach ball” suspended in the sky.

Another fascinating view was shared by @BayesDays, shot around 7:12 pm in Bangkok. The image captured the Moon in a phase when it was just stepping out of totality, its reddish glow dimming away, while the morass of city buildings below glittered with night lights.

Another photo taken in New Hampshire exhibits the Moon as a little white pearl adorning the lavender-hued skies above Umbagog Lake. Underneath, the sky explodes in a gradient of blues and purples, illuminating clusters of mountains. A meadow’s grass seems to have turned blue. On the other side of the lake, a clump of bushes is silhouetted against the glassy purple waters.

For most of America, including North and South America, the total lunar eclipse has already concluded. Until the elusive Blood Moon returns in 2028, Moon watchers can delight their senses with the thumping archive of these photos.