
Did you see the supermoon this weekend? Check out some amazing photos of the event, which combined with a total lunar eclipse, dazzled viewers all around the world.
Millions of Americans patiently waited for the sun to go down this weekend in anticipation of the famed Supermoon event. The supermoon, which appeared slightly larger in the sky, was accompanied by a lunar eclipse that shrouded the moon in the Earth’s shadow. It created a ghastly red hue over the moon, and photographers and space fans came out in droves to see the magic.
This was the second of three supermoons in 2015, but the one that happened over the weekend was truly unique. According to a report from Decoded Science, people from all around the world flocked away from city lights to darker areas with their telescopes and cameras, hoping to catch the best possible view of the event.
The supermoon lunar eclipse began on Sunday, September 27 just around 10pm on the East Coast. It was comprised of three different astronomical events, and it hard to ignore even if you weren’t out looking for it. The most familiar event is easily the full moon, which happens about once a month. The moon appeared slightly larger in the sky than normal this weekend, however, as it is at a point in its orbit, which is slightly elliptical, that is closer to the Earth’s surface than normal – an event called perigee.
Last but not least, the moon will also experience a total lunar eclipse, when the shadow from the Earth blocks out the light from the sun on the moon’s surface, creating an eerie dark red shadow that makes the moon appear like a pumpkin in the sky.
The moon this weekend was also notable because it appeared in the sky as a “blood moon,” what happens when the lunar eclipse caused the sun’s light to refract around the Earth’s atmosphere. This filtered out all but the widest wavelengths – red.
Viewers in North and South America, Europe, Africa, western Asia and the eastern Pacific region all enjoyed the moon this weekend, though some cities reported heavy cloud cover that made it difficult to see.
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