A Universal Sunrise

Have you ever wondered why the surface of the Moon glows a vibrant red colour during a lunar eclipse? It may be reminiscent of the colour of a sunset – and that’s because they arise from the same phenomena. A lunar eclipse is the collective sunrises and sunsets from around the entire world, projected onto the Moon’s surface, when positioned in exactly the right place in space. The light of the Sun passes through the Earth’s atmosphere, scattering away the blue light, and leaving the red to illuminate the surface of the Moon.

We wanted to capture this effect with SpIRIT during the September total lunar eclipse, in a way only a satellite can from orbit. Flying over Antarctica, we looked back across the red glow of the sunset, and towards the Moon during ingress of the eclipse. The image is a compilation of 5 captures across 6 minutes, illustrating the change in illumination of the Moon’s surface as the Earth moves in front of the Sun.