A total lunar eclipse stunned viewers around the world this week, and one time-lapse video shows the light from the night sky being dramatically reduced to such an extent that the Milky Way suddenly comes into view.
Captured by the Gemini Observatory’s All-Sky camera at its facilities in Hilo, Hawaii, the awe-inspiring video shows the moment when the eclipse causes the sky to darken and reveal the Milky Way.
The All-sky camera at @GeminiObs South got a pretty good view of the lunar eclipse last night! Note the very sharp decrease in brightness between 12-17 seconds! #discover together #Eclipse #EclipseLunar #Eclipse2022 @NOIRLabAstro @NOIRLabAstroES pic.twitter.com/raOZFa9RyT
— US National Gemini Office (@usngo) May 16, 2022
As reported by futurism, the Milky Way galaxy can be seen for only three seconds in the time-lapse video above, but took place over the course of about an hour in real time. The powerful telescope at the Gemini Observatory to the south was able to pick up fine details in the sky as the eclipse dramatically obscured the view.
The total lunar eclipse took place on a full moon, which would normally make for an extra clear night and therefore bad for seeing the Milky Way due to the natural light pollution. But when Earth cut the light from the sun reflecting off the moon, the sky dimmed significantly, revealing the galaxy to the camera.
The solar eclipse was the longest total lunar eclipse visible from America since 1989, and also happened to coincide with a “supermoon,” which occurs when the moon is closest to Earth.
When the Earth’s shadow falls on the moon’s surface, it can sometimes dim or even turn red. Therefore, a total lunar eclipse of a full moon is also called a “blood moon”. This red appearance comes from the moon passing through Earth’s screen shadow, as the only light hitting it has passed through the planet’s atmosphere.
It wasn’t just the Gemini Observatory’s camera that picked out the Milky Way, another photographer posted a photo on Twitter of the Milky Way, the Lunar Eclipse and the Aurora Borealis in one photo.
Milky Way, Lunar Eclipse and the Aurora Borealis in one photo! How can a night get any better?!
Brookdale, Manitoba
23:39 CST, 15/05/2022@TamithaSkov @TweetAurora @CBCManitoba @ctvwinnipeg @TravelManitoba @TourismWestman pic.twitter.com/DGa8LEtXjd— High Hopes Aurora with Justin Anderson (@AuroraJAnderson) May 17, 2022
Meanwhile, astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti photographed the event from her position on the International Space Station.
A camera stationed at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile also captured a remarkable image of the Milky Way Galaxy with the lunar eclipse visible in the frame as a large red sphere.
The crimson Moon shines over the Milky Way in the center left of the image, while the Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope (center) and Curtis Schmidt Telescope (left) appear at the bottom of the image. NOIRLab explains that the eclipse appeared unusually dark in the Southern Hemisphere due to the ash from the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano eruption in 2021.
For those who missed this lunar eclipse, another one is scheduled for November 8, 2022, which will be visible in parts of the United States and Asia.
#Milky #Explodes #Sight #Lunar #Eclipse
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