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Photography · 27 August 2026

The Copper Hour

The moon going into the earth's shadow, and two aeroplanes that crossed it on the way.

An airliner in silhouette against the bright edge of a partly eclipsed copper moon, its navigation lights showing as red and white dashes above.
22:42:06An airliner crossing the bright edge. The wings and tail come through as a black outline against the last of the direct sun, and its navigation lights sit just above, red on one side and white on the other.

The arc

Twenty one moons in a shallow arc, running from a full white moon on the left through a shadow crossing the disc to a deep copper moon on the right.
21:40 to 23:10Twenty one moons in a row, left to right. It starts full and white, the shadow comes in from the lower left, and by the right hand end the disc is copper with only a thin bright edge left along the top. Drag it sideways.

Twenty one moons

Every stage on its own. Click any of them.

  1. The moon at 21:40, full and white, before the shadow.
    21:4001 / 21
  2. The moon at 21:50, a bite taken out of one limb.
    21:5002 / 21
  3. The moon at 21:54, a bite taken out of one limb.
    21:5403 / 21
  4. The moon at 22:01, a bite taken out of one limb.
    22:0104 / 21
  5. The moon at 22:05, a bite taken out of one limb.
    22:0505 / 21
  6. The moon at 22:10, a bite taken out of one limb.
    22:1006 / 21
  7. The moon at 22:13, a bite taken out of one limb.
    22:1307 / 21
  8. The moon at 22:17, the shadow across half the disc.
    22:1708 / 21
  9. The moon at 22:20, the shadow across half the disc.
    22:2009 / 21
  10. The moon at 22:23, the shadow across half the disc.
    22:2310 / 21
  11. The moon at 22:29, the shadow across half the disc.
    22:2911 / 21
  12. The moon at 22:36, the shadow across half the disc.
    22:3612 / 21
  13. The moon at 22:40, most of the disc copper, a bright rind left.
    22:4013 / 21
  14. The moon at 22:42, most of the disc copper, a bright rind left.
    22:4214 / 21
  15. The moon at 22:44, most of the disc copper, a bright rind left.
    22:4415 / 21
  16. The moon at 22:46, most of the disc copper, a bright rind left.
    22:4616 / 21
  17. The moon at 22:52, most of the disc copper, a bright rind left.
    22:5217 / 21
  18. The moon at 22:57, nearly all copper, a thin sunlit edge at the top.
    22:5718 / 21
  19. The moon at 23:01, nearly all copper, a thin sunlit edge at the top.
    23:0119 / 21
  20. The moon at 23:03, nearly all copper, a thin sunlit edge at the top.
    23:0320 / 21
  21. The moon at 23:10, nearly all copper, a thin sunlit edge at the top.
    23:1021 / 21
The partly eclipsed moon with a brilliant white and gold rim along the upper right edge and the rest of the disc a dim copper, with maria visible through the shadow.
22:44A white and gold rim along the top right edge, and the rest of the moon a dim copper. The dark maria still show through the shadowed part.
A copper eclipsed moon with a diagonal trail of red and white aircraft navigation lights running up across it from lower left to upper right.
22:42The same aircraft as the first picture, with its lights laid out across the whole pass. It comes in from the lower left and goes straight over the top of the moon.
The same eclipsed moon lower in the frame, with a line of coloured navigation lights arcing above and to the left of it.
22:36An earlier one, six minutes before, that went over the top left and never touched the moon. Its lights arc away to the upper right.

Canon EOS R6, RF 70-200mm f/2.8. 27 August 2026.

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