Volcanic Eclipse

From the photographer: “I traveled to Hawaii to observe the total Lunar eclipse of 2018 January 31. For the eclipse, I was at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in Kilauea. I set up my gear by the rim trail at the western edge of the caldera. The sky was generally clear but smoke and steam clouds were continuously rising from the lava lake in Halema’uma’u crater due southwest. The wind was blowing from southwest as well so the smoke clouds were blocking the Moon from time to time. Towards the end of totality I photographed this wide panorama of Kilauea caldera and the eclipsed Moon with the towering smoke clouds, lit by the lava lake. Thanks to the darkening sky, the deep southern Milky Way of Crux and Centaurus became visible together with Carina Nebula shining over the smoke-free southern horizon.”

Click on the second photo for a closeup of the Moon crossing the Earth’s shadow, together with M44 Beehive cluster in the view, featured on NASA ‘s Astronomy Picture of the Day.