iotw2245 — Image of the Week
Double Trouble Total Lunar Eclipse
9 November 2022: Next to the Nicholas U. Mayall 4-meter Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory, a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab, a total lunar eclipse crawls across the desert sky in the early morning hours of yesterday in this week’s Image of the Week. The Milky Way, dotted by star-forming regions, arches over the telescope (explore in the zoomable image). This year, the typical two annual lunar eclipses were both total, something which hasn’t happened since 2018. You can see the other 2022 total lunar eclipse above Cerro Tololo International Observatory, another Program of NSF’s NOIRLab, in the Image of the Week here and in comparison shots here and a compilation of all 2022 lunar and solar eclipses here. For a total lunar eclipse to occur, the Moon must enter the innermost part of the Earth’s shadow, the umbra. The Moon doesn’t align within the shadow every time it is full, but the …