A total lunar eclipse took place in the night sky on May 15 into May 16. This photo was taken in Platte City by Zach Pixler about 11 p.m. the night of Sunday, May 15. In addition on this night the moon was close, offering sky gazers what is known as a supermoon. The moon glowed red on Sunday night and the early hours of Monday, in the total lunar eclipse event that saw the sun, Earth and moon form a straight line in the night sky. During a full lunar eclipse, the moon passes through the darkest part of the Earth’s shadow — the umbra. According to NASA, when the moon is within the umbra it gets a reddish hue because blue and green light get more easily scattered by dust particles in the atmosphere and orange and red colors remain more visible. Lunar eclipses are sometimes called blood moons because of this phenomenon. The total lunar eclipse was visible in much of Africa, Europe and South America and most of North America.
Contributed photo by Zach Pixler