Beginning May 15th at 10:28pm, I had the opportunity to see the Super Flower Blood Moon Total Eclipse of 2022. My location, South Florida.
After covering some basic information regarding this lunar eclipse, my personal experience will be communicated through photos below, including a list of equipment used to capture this fascinating phenomenon.
Basic Information
What does blood moon mean?
The moon appears to be red due to the shadow, or umbra, cast onto the moon from Earth. This is different than a solar eclipse. During solar eclipses, the shadow of the moon is cast onto Earth from the Sun.
The rust color comes from the following:
“The same phenomenon that makes our sky blue and our sunsets red causes the Moon to turn red during a lunar eclipse. It’s called Rayleigh scattering. Light travels in waves, and different colors of light have different physical properties. Blue light has a shorter wavelength and is scattered more easily by particles in Earth’s atmosphere than red light, which has a longer wavelength.” – Nasa.gov
Why does it have the nickname flower?
There’s a couple articles detailing that this year’s full moon is near the closest point to Earth in it’s orbit. – https://www.space.com/super-flower-blood-moon-eclipse-lunar-scientist-tips#:~:text=Skywatchers%20are%20calling%20tonight’s%20lunar,it%20a%20%22supermoon%22%20nickname.
Another article relays that this nickname is due to the event occurring in May and being in the middle of spring. – https://www.wdsu.com/article/new-orleans-super-flower-blood-moon/39992829.
When is the next lunar eclipse?
According to timeanddate.com, the next lunar eclipse will be 175 days from now: November 8, 2022.
Equipment Used To Capture This Rare Event
Canon 70D Camera
Canon EFS 18-135mm Lens
Manfroto Tripod
Celestron AstroMaster LT 70 Telescope
Samsung Note 9 Android Phone
The Environment
Prior to the eclipse starting, a bad front was moving through the south part of Florida. This storm originally included 2.0” hail. The storm dispersed over time but left a cloud trail that was incredibly hard to see through at some points, based on my location. Temperatures remained an average of 73 degrees Fahrenheit with crystal clear skies once the clouds began to dissipate.
The only downside? Mosquitoes!
I probably have 30 bites through my jeans from indestructible proboscises.
The following is a reenactment of what it was like:
While capturing the Super Blood Flower Moon, I noticed that it was also interestingly placed within the Orion’s Belt constellation. If the stars are slightly difficult to see, please bring your device somewhere dark to enjoy the experience more. As for the rest, enjoy!
If you’re interested in purchasing an unwatermarked print, please feel free to click on the photo, or here instead.
Wow. What get shots.
The mosquito reenactment is accurate for Florida after a rain….the size is to scale also. LOL