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'A rare treat': Metro Vancouverites capture awe-inspiring blood moon eclipse in night sky

The moon "looked more like orange soda, casting a dreamy, romantic glow across the night sky," said one local photographer.
Elana Shepert
Elana Shepert

Metro Vancouverites were treated to a spellbinding total lunar eclipse as the skies cleared overnight on Thursday, March 13. 

Rosanna Tilbrook, an astronomer at the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre, told V.I.A. in a previous interview that although the Earth was positioned directly between the sun and the moon, it wouldn't completely block sunlight from reaching the moon. 

"Sunlight which filters through Earth's atmosphere can still reach the Moon's surface," she notes. "However, only red light is able to pass directly through our atmosphere, while blue light is scattered away, meaning that the Moon can appear orange or red during a lunar eclipse.

"This is a similar mechanism to how sunsets work."

The moon started crossing into Earth's shadow around 9 p.m. but the total eclipse - when the moon was fully obscured - only lasted from 11:26 p.m. to half past midnight. The event wrapped up around 3 a.m.

The moon acquired a deep rustic hue during the peak eclipse, earning its other title of "blood moon."

Local photographs capture "blood moon" in Metro Vancouver 

Vancouver's Liron Gertsman has made international headlines for capturing awe-inspiring space photos, including a remarkable image of a rare comet and the Aurora Borealis at Harrison Lake. He also received a nod from NASA for his photo of the North America and Pelican Nebulae nebulae glowing vibrantly above The Lions - known as the Two Sisters or Ch'ich'iyúy Elxwíkn, in the Squamish language.

The passionate photographer photographed a frigatebird in front of a total solar eclipse last April and decided to continue his tradition of attempting to photograph a bird in front of an eclipse.

"With lunar eclipses being such rare and beautiful spectacles, when that opportunity comes up to photograph it, I always take advantage of it," he tells V.I.A. "In recent years, I've been getting more creative, combining my love for birds and wildlife and space and the night sky."

Gertsman says his mind immediately thought of photographing crows (see his photos in slides two and three).

"Thematically, there's something very cool about a crow in front of this phenomenon of the blood moon. But also, crows are a very Vancouver bird. Vancouverites may have strong opinions on them but I personally love crows," he explains.

"They are a bird that really is synonymous with our city."

While the event lasted an hour, the photographer wrote in an Instagram post that getting high-quality images was challenging in the low light. He shot the images with a Canon R5 and RF 100-500 mm lens.

Total lunar eclipse wows Metro Vancouver residents as skies clear

Garfield Wang is a photographer and digital creator based in Vancouver who travels globally to take his photos. However, he tells V.I.A. he has a particular affinity for capturing "the beauty of our city" through his lens (see his photos on slides four to six).

"Last night’s weather was a rare treat—after days of rain, I had almost given up hope, but the sky surprised us with a perfectly clear night," he says.

"I captured these photos of the lunar eclipse using a 400mm telephoto lens at Larry Berg Flight Path Park near Vancouver International Airport. The total lunar eclipse was absolutely fascinating. While many call it a 'blood moon,' to me, it looked more like orange soda, casting a dreamy, romantic glow across the night sky."

Jock McCracken also took a series of photos in the Yaletown area, showing the deep rustic hue of the full moon during the eclipse's peak. One of his photos shows the moon just starting to peek out on one side beside a building (see slides seven to nine). 

Have a look at some other photos Metro Vancouverites from around the region shared on social media of the rare spectacle.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Zach Doehler (@calibreus)

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