May 19, 2003

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May 19, 2003: Full moons are normally bright and dazzling. This one was barely visible.

International Space Station (ISS) science officer Ed Lu took this picture on May 15th. The moon was dark because it was inside Earth's shadow--a lunar eclipse. Sky watchers in the Americas, Europe, Africa and parts of Asia saw it, too. The moon glided into the shadow of our planet, dimmed and reddened, then glided back out again. From start to finish the eclipse lasted more than three hours.

Unlike total eclipses of the Sun, which last only minutes, total eclipses of the moon are slow. Even so, Lu didn't have much time to take his picture. Why? The space station traveling 17,500 mph races around Earth once every 90 minutes. From Lu's point of view, the moon was constantly rising and setting, quickly emerging from behind Earth's limb then disappearing again. There was nothing leisurely about it.

This was the first lunar eclipse of 2003. The second comes on Nov. 9th. Lu is slated to come home in October, so he can watch that one from Earth ... with more time to enjoy the show.