Viewing the ‘blood moon’ eclipse in Shenandoah Valley

By Lynn R. Mitchell

The bright moonbeams that woke me at 3:30 this morning (see Up early to watch lunar eclipse of ‘blood moon’) dimmed as the lunar eclipse began a couple of hours later, slowly darkening what had been a brightly-lit night. Watching from the front yard beginning around 5:45, the “blood red” color, which seemed like more of a burnt orange, took over the moon as the eclipse proceeded.  The wind was blustery as it has been the past six days and the temperature was 54 degrees, not cold but nippy enough that I retreated to my car and turned on the heat. At about the halfway point, I posted a grainy eclipse iPhone photo on Facebook.

As I watched while the moon lowered in the sky, it began to disappear behind the trees …

… so I drove up the street where the view was unobstructed and the moon was still visible over the Appalachian Mountains.

See also Wednesday night’s full orange October moon.

Photos by Lynn R. Mitchell
October 8, 2014