The moon passed through part of Earth’s shadow in a partial lunar eclipse visible to millions of stargazers across the Eastern Hemisphere on Saturday, providing an early sky-gazing treat just days before Halloween.
The October 28th lunar eclipse, the last of four eclipses in 2023 — one each of the Moon and the Sun — occurred during October’s full hunter-gatherer moon in the Earth’s shadow.
Lunar eclipses occur only from the night side of Earth as our planet moves between the Moon and the Sun. Skywatchers with clear skies will be able to see the event from parts of Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. Some viewers in select US states like New York, Alaska and North Carolina were also able to catch the final phase of the eclipse. For everyone else, several livestream webcasts of the lunar eclipse showed online views from TimeandDate.com and a virtual telescope project from Cecano, Italy.
TimeandDate.com He captured a stunning video of the total lunar eclipseThe telescopes are spread across three continents in Bergen, Norway, Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Perth, Australia.
At the end of the eclipse, a telescope from Norway captured a truly spectacular sight: a waning lunar eclipse with the brilliant planet Jupiter to the upper right of the Moon.
In Dubai, nearly 200 spectators gathered at the Al Duraya Astronomical Center in Mushrif Park to watch the lunar eclipse with the Dubai Astronomical Team, which blogged its views live on TimeandDate.com.
„Lots of children have come to witness this event. We are so excited, no one is on their phone, it’s unbelievable, everyone is looking up at the moon,” Dubai Astronomy Group operations manager Khadijah Ahmad said during the livestream. . „We have about eight telescopes set up below, and the public is all over these telescopes, looking at them and taking pictures.”
Cloudy weather in London, England, is not enough to spoil a skywatcher’s vision.
„My clouds parted just in time for the climax in London at 9:14pm,” wrote one viewer. Epiphany at X and going by @FunkyAppleTree, Twitter as it was formerly known, when sharing stunning photos. „Cool.”
Thanks @metoffice my clouds parted just in time for the climax at 9:14pm in London. Thrill. @StormHour @skyatnightmag #PartialLunarEclipse #LunarEclipse pic.twitter.com/9msYmocI5wOctober 28, 2023
Another visitor in Delhi, India wondered.
„Om. First time [my] A life I have tried & luckily seen [a] Brightest Lunar Eclipse in Delhi” Shweta wrote @imshwetta on X. „The partial moon is shrouded in black.”
Ah, first time in life I tried & luckily saw it very clearly in #Delhi #lunar eclipse black covered part of the moon #চ্ন্দ্রকর্কান #চ্ন্দ্র্র #LunarEclipse2023 pic.twitter.com/TQowehIBbAOctober 28, 2023
Here are some more amazing views from eclipse watchers at X who tracked the lunar eclipse from around the world.
WATCH: October 29 partial #LunarEclipse taken from Cebu City, Philippines at 4:14 AM PhST. Thanks so much for sharing, Alma Alfafara!Sony a7iisigma 100-400mm600mm aps-c mode pic.twitter.com/X0Wdcvalv4October 28, 2023
In Italy, photojournalist Lorenzo Di Cola of Narfoto and Getty Images captured this view of the lunar eclipse from L’Aquila, Italy, showing Earth’s shadow on the moon from a different perspective.
I captured the mesmerizing lunar eclipse in Mumbai tonight on my phone! 🌕✨ #LunarEclipse #MumbaiSky #NightPhotography #AstronomyLove pic.twitter.com/AG1rwssnNjOctober 28, 2023
Shock horror! I think the earth may be round, take a flat earth!! 🤭Lunar eclipse to the max from the back of my camera! You can clearly see Earth’s curved shadow falling on the #Moon!! #LunarEclipse #MoonHour @MoonHourSocial @DavidBflower pic.twitter.com/SDxEP16kTFOctober 28, 2023
Saturday’s partial lunar eclipse began at 2:01 pm EDT (1901 GMT) and was expected to last about 4.5 hours, ending at 6:26 pm EDT (2226 GMT). It’s a partial eclipse because during the event, the Moon has only partially moved into the darkest part of the Earth’s shadow – known as the umbra.
This is the last lunar eclipse of 2023. The next one will occur on March 24, 2024, but will be less impressive because the moon will only pass through Earth’s outer shadow, which scientists call the penumbra. That eclipse will be visible from North America and is a preview of a truly spectacular total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, visible from Mexico, the United States and Canada.
If you’re planning to see the full Hunter’s Moon in October, here are our guides Best binoculars And Telescopes A great place to start when looking for Skywatch gear.
If you want to take photos night sky In general, check out our guide How to photograph the moon, As well as ours The best cameras for astrophotography And Best lenses for astrophotography.
Editor’s note: If you take a picture of the hunter’s moon and would like to share with Space.com’s readers, send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location [email protected].
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