Houston resident Debbie Leo captured photos of the super flower blood moon Sunday evening.
The moon glowed red for a few hours overnight as a total lunar eclipse graced the evening sky in Houston Sunday. Some Houstonians were able to capture the rare "Super Flower Blood Moon," which only occurs during a total lunar eclipse — when the Earth is directly between the moon and the sun — and when the moon is at its closest point to Earth.
In addition, a full moon in May is sometimes known as a flower moon as spring is typically in full effect at the time in the northern hemisphere. The moon's reddish, orange hues are caused by blue light being scattered away and leaving only red light reaching the moon, much like how the sky turns red during a sunrise or sunset, according to NASA.
The eastern half of the United States and all of South America were able to witness all the stages of the lunar eclipse, while partial stages of the eclipse were visible across Africa, Europe and the Middle East. On Sunday night, totality began just before 10:30 p.m. and lasted for more than an hour until 11:53 p.m., according to NASA, which answered questions about the phenomenon as it livestreamed the event Sunday.
Houston stargazers flocked to social media to share photos capturing their view of the celestial event from their backyards. Resident Ava Loyd, who runs the YouTube channel "Adventures with Ava and Will Loyd," captured her photos using a monocular telescope attached to her iPhone 12 Pro Max.
"I’m obsessed with those photos I got," Loyd said. "I was literally out there watching the amazing Super Flower Blood Moon for over an hour."
Here are more of the coolest shots we found:
Go outside! 🌝 #Eclipse #EclipseLunar #Eclipse2022 pic.twitter.com/x48Ns3SuPr
High humidity here in Houston meant red fuzzball lunar eclipse through my 4.5-inch scope. Still, very cool like always! #LunarEclipse pic.twitter.com/Gozcbs15P0
The lunar eclipse is awesome. Incredible visibility in Houston right now—very much worth going outside to see ?‘? pic.twitter.com/RxTgfnjHKT
Houston lunar eclipse bb @theRNbiologist @ModerateFERN pic.twitter.com/oCHeVnFFVK
My super flower blood moon eclipse helicopter game strong in space city tonight. Houston Texas. The Moon, Earth, the Sun & God are amazing. pic.twitter.com/L2DMDgecG3
What does the lunar eclipse look like where you’re at?? Here’s a view from Houston, Texas pic.twitter.com/nx26cI56q7
Tonight’s lunar eclipse from Houston. pic.twitter.com/yfHoXV77Wg
Lunar eclipse in Scorpio almost complete as seen from Houston, TX 🥹 pic.twitter.com/uJ6nqEXo8U
If you missed the event, fret not. The Bayou City will be able to witness another total lunar eclipse, though not a "super moon," later this year during the early morning hours of Nov. 8. The next total lunar eclipse will occur in March 2025.
In a separate astronomical phenomenon happening in two years, H-Town will see a "partial" solar eclipse as the new moon passes between the sun and the Earth, blocking out the sun's light.
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Ariana Garcia joined Chron in 2021. Previously, she was a community news and breaking news reporter for the Austin American-Statesman. She enjoys binge-watching anime and films makeup tutorials in her spare time.