Eclipse near Moonrise

Breathtaking views of astronomical events are a never-ending source of great excitement for the staff at Gemini North, one half of the International Gemini Observatory, supported in part by the U.S. National Science Foundation and operated by NSF NOIRLab. One such example is the lunar eclipse taking place in the distance on the right side of this image, captured in 2019. It is seemingly encased in the dark blue band above the horizon. Lunar eclipses occur when Earth moves between the Sun and the Moon. The Moon, which is only visible by the sunlight reflected off it, is darkened by the Earth’s shadow. An eclipse like this one can be viewed from anywhere on Earth where the Moon is visible, though the extent of the eclipse depends on how aligned the Moon is to Earth’s shadow and one’s viewing location. In 2022, for example, the two lunar eclipses, both total eclipses, were visible from Gemini North in Hawai‘i.