The Blue Moon – the second of two full moons in January – passed through the Earth’s shadow on 31 January 2018, which resulted in a total lunar eclipse, where the moon will be entirely inside the Earth’s dark umbral shadow, Sandton Chronicle reports.
READ MORE: Eclipse-chasers trot the globe, addicted to Moon’s shadow
The eclipse, which was not visible in South Africa, lasted a bit longer than one-and-a-quarter hours. The 31 January full moon was also the third in a series of three straight full moon supermoons – that is, super-close full moons. It’s the first of two Blue Moons in 2018.
Watch: Tonight’s moon event explained
Although the eclipse was not visible from South Africa, local photographer Christo Smith captured the moon rising last night. He ventured to a spot just off Beyers Naude drive in Johannesburg and waited for the moon to rise.
“I hoped it would be over the city. Unfortunately, it was way off my original guess and estimates, so I captured the moon rising over a set of buildings of a complex.”
The photos are composite images made from several exposures taken last night, which have been overlayed.
The image captured by Christo Smith.
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