SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – MAY 15: The blood moon lunar eclipse rises behind the eastern span of the Bay Bridge seen from Treasure island in San Francisco, Oakland, Calif., on Sunday, May 15, 2022. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Photos: Total lunar eclipse seen as first full blood moon of the year rises
A total lunar eclipse — an event where the Earth casts its shadow on the moon — graced the skies over the West Coast on Sunday in the hours immediately following sunset, causing the moon to turn a haunting shade of red for an hour and a half.
At the Chabot Space & Science Center watch party, people moongazed from the observation deck and also got free telescope views.
“If you can find a spot where you can see the moon as its rising near the horizon, you should have a pretty good view,” said Gerald McKeegan, an astronomer at the Chabot Space & Science Center in Oakland. “And of course, as it gets higher in the sky, and the sky gets darker, it’ll get even better.
The next such eclipse is expected to happen late on Nov. 7 and early on Nov. 8, when a total lunar eclipse will be seen over Asia, Australia, the Pacific Ocean and North and South America.
The West Coast should have a particularly prime opportunity to view that event, with the entire lunar eclipse expected to appear in view over California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada and Idaho, according to NASA.
Bay Area News Group’s Jakob Rodgers contributed to this report.
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SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – MAY 15: The lunar eclipse turns the moon blood red on Sunday, May 15, 2022, as it rises over the Bay Bridge next to the Ferry Building in San Francisco, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA – MAY 15: A lunar eclipse is seen as the first blood moon of the year rises through the trees in the hills of Oakland, Calif., on Sunday, May 15, 2022. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group) OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA – MAY 15: People gather to view a lunar eclipse of the first blood moon of the year in the hills of Oakland, Calif., on Sunday, May 15, 2022. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group) People are silhouetted as an almost full moon rises above the sky in Grozny, Russia, Sunday, May 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Musa Sadulayev) SAUSALITO, CALIFORNIA – MAY 15: A partially-eclipsed Blood Moon rises over San Francisco’s Coit Tower on May 15, 2022 in Sausalito, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA – MAY 15: A lunar eclipse is seen as the first blood moon of the year rises through above the clouds in the hills of Oakland, Calif., on Sunday, May 15, 2022. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group) SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – MAY 15: The blood moon lunar eclipse rises behind the Port of Oakland seen from Treasure island in San Francisco, Oakland, Calif., on Sunday, May 15, 2022. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)The moon sets in the morning during a partial lunar eclipse behind the Frauenkirche and the dome of the Kunstakedmie with the angel “Fama” in Dresden, Germany, Monday, May 16, 2022. (Robert Michael/dpa via AP) An aircraft passes the full moon over Frankfurt, Germany, Sunday, May 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Michael Probst) A full moon rises above the iconic Haghia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey, early Monday, May 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Mucahid Yapici) SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – MAY 15: The lunar eclipse enters its final phase as the clouds clear over San Francisco City Hall, Sunday, May 15, 2022. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) A lunar eclipse is seen behind a cyclist during the first blood moon of the year, in Irwindale, Calif., Sunday, May 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu) A lunar eclipse is seen above the artwork titled: “Seven Magic Mountains” by artist Ugo Rondinone, during the first blood moon of the year Sunday, May 15, 2022, near Jean, Nev. (AP Photo/John Locher) OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA – MAY 11: People gather to view a lunar eclipse of the first blood moon of the year in the hills of Oakland, Calif., on Sunday, May 15, 2022. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
