Spica, Mars, and Eclipsed Moon
Image Credit &
Copyright:
Damian Peach
A beautiful, reddened
Moon slid through dark skies on April 15,
completely
immersed
in Earth's shadow for well over an hour.
It was the year's first total lunar eclipse
and was
widely
enjoyed over the planet's Western Hemisphere.
Seen from the Caribbean island of Barbados, the
dimmed lunar disk is captured
during
totality in this colorful skyview.
The dark Moon's red color contrasts nicely with
bright bluish star Spica,
alpha star of the constellation
Virgo, posing only about two degrees away.
Brighter than Spica and about 10 degrees from the Moon on the right,
Mars is near opposition
and closest approach to Earth.
The Red Planet's own ruddy hue seems to echo the color of
the eclipsed Moon.