Lunar Eclipse @ ESO

During the early evening of 7 August, a partial lunar eclipse was visible in the sky above the ESO Headquarters in Garching bei München, Germany.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth, Moon and Sun are aligned, and the Earth casts a shadow on the Moon. This time, only a small part of the Moon entered the Earth’s inner shadow, the umbra, but it still made for a stunning view.

While observing from the rooftop of the ESO Headquarters building, ESO Photo Ambassador Petr Horálek captured the eclipse along with spectacular rays from the setting Sun behind him, known as anticrepuscular rays — a union of astronomical and atmospherical phenomena. The Picture of the Week shown here is a compilation of over 50 images of the eclipse, starting from the peak of the eclipse just as the Moon rose above the horizon, to the eclipse’s conclusion when the Moon was high in the sky.

Horálek captured the eclipse near its peak in a second photo. The entire Moon is turned red by its light scattering through the Earth’s atmosphere. Meanwhile, the bottom right part of the full Moon blends into the sky having entered the umbra of the Earth’s shadow.

Europe’s next lunar eclipse will be a total eclipse, visible on 27 July, 2018.