The "blood" moon in eclipse, St. George, Utah, Sept. 27, 2015 | Photo by Dave Amodt, St. George News
ST. GEORGE — Mother Nature tried to put a stop to sky viewing for a period of time Sunday night by sending thick clouds into the area to vex eclipse watchers.
The eclipse was supposed to be excellent viewing as it occurred during a “supermoon,” the point at which the moon is closest to the Earth in its orbit. It also was scheduled to be a “blood moon,” where the atmospheric conditions would be just right to give the rising moon a reddish glow.
But a line of high-level clouds stretching back to central California did not bode well for amateur astronomers and curious onlookers hoping to see the eclipse which occurs once every 18 years. The clouds obscured the rising moon at times, occasionally showing a tantalizing glimpse of the moon.
The next supermoon eclipse will take place in 2033.
While tonight’s eclipse proved to be a disappointment to some viewers, there will be pictures posted at many sites on the web, including NASA’s website which, at its peak Sunday night, reported over 200,000 viewers trying to watch the live feed from around the world.
The moon did peek out through the clouds at times. See our gallery below for more pictures from St. George and NASA’s website.
Click on photo to enlarge it, then use your left-right arrow keys to cycle through the gallery.
Total eclipse as seen from the Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles, California, Sept. 27, 2015 | Photo courtesy of NASA TV, St. George News
Total eclipse as seen from the Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles, California, Sept. 27, 2015 | Photo courtesy of NASA TV, St. George News
The moon going into eclipse, Lafayette, Louisiana, September 27, 2015 | Photo courtesy of NASA TV, St. George News
The eclipse of the moon as seen from the St. George News offices, St. George, Utah, Sept. 27, 2015 | Photo by Ric Wayman, St. George News
Lunar eclipse, St. George Utah, Sept. 27, 2015 | Photo by Dave Amodt, St. George News
The moon coming out of the lunar eclipse, Lafayette, Louisiana, September 27, 2015 | Photo courtesy of NASA TV, St. George News
Lunar eclipse, St. George, Utah, Sept. 27, 2015 | Photo by Michael Durrant, St. George News
Lunar eclipse, St. George, Utah, Sept. 27, 2015 | Photo by Michael Durrant, St. George News
Lunar eclipse, St. George, Utah, Sept. 27, 2015 | Photo by Michael Durrant, St. George News
Lunar eclipse, St. George, Utah, Sept. 27, 2015 | Photo by Scott Young, St. George News
Lunar eclipse from the Ridge Top Complex, St. George, Utah, September 27, 2015 | Photo courtesy of Sandie Divan, St. George News
Lunar eclipse from the Ridge Top Complex, St. George, Utah, September 27, 2015 | Photo courtesy of Sandie Divan, St. George News
Supermoon total lunar eclipse, Washington, Utah, Sept. 27, 2015 | Photo courtesy of Laurie Wicker, St. George News
Supermoon total lunar eclipse view outside of Peterbilt, Washington, Utah, Sept. 27, 2015 | Photo courtesy of Iris Celis, St. George News
"Even with a nice camera...it's really hard to focus on something tiny and dark through the viewer of the camera...after about 50 photos, these two are the best." Supermoon total lunar eclipse, Southern Utah, Sept. 27, 2015 | Photo courtesy of Landon S'ink, St. George News
"With our spotting scope in Hurricane." Supermoon total lunar eclipse, Hurricane, Utah, Sept. 27, 2015 | Photo courtesy of Tae Chris Valdez, St. George News
"Took my boys out to see the eclipse tonight..what a site!" Supermoon total lunar eclipse, Southern Utah, Sept. 27, 2015 | Photo courtesy of Nicola Gonzalez, St. George News
Supermoon total lunar eclipse, Southern Utah, Sept. 27, 2015 | Photo courtesy of Bianca Alvera, St. George News
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2015, all rights reserved.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
"I wrote my first word when I was very young. I enjoyed this so much I decided to write many more words."
A native of Pacific Palisades, Calif., Ric was bitten by the news bug as a staff writer and associate editor of the Palisades High School Tideline. After school he entered the media as a radio personality, both playing music and reporting news. Ric moved to St. George in the 1980s and was the morning personality on all three major AM stations in town. An avid amateur radio operator, Ric is looking for a good band to play in, as he plays keyboards, bass and guitar. Ric, who currently is working on developing a lifestyle that doesn't require his presence, lives in the center of St. George with his partner Terri, two snoring dogs and too many neurotic cats.
I think there have been three eclipses in the last couple years. Photography is sort of my thing and I really blew it when the first eclipse occurred. I caught the one in April and nailed it. Sunday night, I could sit on the back porch and enjoy! Yes, it was a little obscured by a thin layer of high clouds.
Totally Awesome..
It was amazing! So sad all my neighbors were inside watching the old TV. Oh, well maybe in 18 years they could see the next one.
Yes. they did miss quite an event. It was absolutely worth every minute we spent watching and photographing it.
Thanks so much for your coverage of this. I’d forgotten all about it.
I think there have been three eclipses in the last couple years. Photography is sort of my thing and I really blew it when the first eclipse occurred. I caught the one in April and nailed it. Sunday night, I could sit on the back porch and enjoy! Yes, it was a little obscured by a thin layer of high clouds.