WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — It turned out to be a show stopper, but for much of the night, people hoping to catch a glimpse of the lunar eclipse worried it would be hidden behind a curtain of clouds.
Dozens of photographers flocked to the National Mall ready to capture the rare blood moon at 3 a.m.
Friday morning’s lunar eclipse caught the attention of professional photographers and enthusiasts alike.
“One of the things that’s nice about insomnia is I knew the eclipse was coming because I chase solar eclipses. I chase lunar eclipses. I always like them. So I made sure that I was up,” said Margaret Helber.
Helber lives just west of Charlottesville in Nellysford, where skies were clear.
“It was warm enough to stand there and watch it for about 45 minutes until it was full and it was like that red rubber ball look which was really cool,” Helber said.
“It just takes you away from your everyday trivials of the world, especially everything going on,” said Gordon Lau. “Everybody’s stressed and everything. And you look at that and you’re like, oh, that’s amazing.”
Lau is a photographer known for capturing great images of the moon. He took photos of the eclipse in Gaithersburg, Md.
“This was easy in a lot of ways because it was really high up in the air. There wasn’t any, foreground subject like the Washington Monument or the Capital,” Lau said.
It wasn’t as easy at the Washington Monument where it was pretty cloudy.
“I’m glad that during that whole hour of the lunar eclipse that people were able to capture, you know, pockets of it,” Lau said.
Clear or cloudy, those who stayed up late got a show in the sky.
“I’m all about them. I love getting out there. Next time I’ll have my telescope out so I can get awesome pictures,” Helber said.
The next full lunar eclipse will be March 3, 2026.
