Earth’s shadow swallows 96% of moon

Photos by Tim Lok

Skywatchers who stayed up past midnight Thursday were rewarded with a celestial spectacle, as Earth’s shadow crept across all but a sliver of the moon’s surface in the deepest partial lunar eclipse visible anywhere on the planet until the end of 2028. Tim Lok captured these images from his driveway in the Prospect Hill neighborhood.

At maximum eclipse, at 12:12 a.m. EDT Friday, 96.3% of the moon’s visible face lay inside the darkest part of Earth’s shadow, according to NASA. The eclipse was visible at least in part across North and South America, Europe, Africa and western Asia. Viewers in the Americas had the best seats, with the entire event above the horizon.

The next lunar eclipse of comparable drama will not arrive until the total lunar eclipse of Dec. 31, 2028.