The Blood Moon

Did you catch the total lunar eclipse last night? Coastal Los Angeles was lucky to have clear skies and out on the point where I live, with very little light pollution, the moon was as bright and bold as could be. I took these shots from my backyard just minutes after the total lunar eclipse (using an OM-D E-M5 with this telephoto lens).

Eerily called the “Blood Moon,” it was the first in the lunar tetrad (a series of four successive total lunar eclipses) that will occur between now and next year. And it’s kind of a big deal: The next lunar tetrad won’t happen again until 2032.

The eclipse started as a “bite” out of the moon around 11 pm PST. Just after midnight, the Earth cast a complete shadow across its surface. It was quite a sight to see the blackness swallow the moon whole and give it a dramatic red hue. The deep, coppery color came from the light of all the sunrises and sunsets over the rest of the planet.

Along with the Blood Moon, we also saw Mars (the brightest point in the sky, seen as a reddish-orange speck to the far right) and a star called Spica that’s part of the constellation Virgo (the second brightest point just below the moon).

And if you’re wondering why it’s called the Blood Moon, it seems the lunar tetrad represents the fulfillment of a Biblical prophecy:

The sun will be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood before the great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. Joel 2:31 (Common English Bible)