--- title: "Watch the Milky Way Instantly Pop Into View During Lunar Eclipse" description: "For a brief and shining moment, this week's lunar eclipse allowed for the Milky Way to be incredibly visible here on Earth." date: "2022-05-17" modified: "2022-05-17" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/milky-way-lunar-eclipse" categories: - "Off-World" - "Space" tags: - "gemini north telescope" - "lunar eclipse" - "milky way" - "Space Telescope" - "the digest" --- # Watch the Milky Way Instantly Pop Into View During Lunar Eclipse ![For a brief and shining moment, this week's lunar eclipse allowed for the Milky Way to be incredibly visible here on Earth.]() *\Image: USNGO\* ## Milking It For a brief and shining moment, this week's lunar eclipse allowed a stunning view of our lovely home, the Milky Way galaxy. Video of the spectacular event was captured by the Gemini Observatory's All-Sky camera at its facilities on Hilo, Hawaii. In the three seconds at approximately 5:30 PM local time that the Sun, Earth, and Moon aligned and thus placed the Moon in our planet's shadow (known as the totality), it was dark enough for the far reaches of our galaxy to be viewed from Gemini's powerful telescope. https://twitter.com/usngo/status/1526336287749263362 ## Optics Apparently, one didn't even need Gemini's uber-powerful telescopic camera to see the Milky Way during the eclipse, either. Multiple [photographers posted]() [the images they captured]() of the spectacular event — and one Canadian photog even got a spectacular panorama of both the Milky Way and the Aurora Borealis in one shot. https://twitter.com/AuroraJAnderson/status/1526390947306561536 ## Tyson Feuds This eclipse also presented an opportunity for notorious scientific wonder-denier [Neil deGrasse Tyson to insist]() that eclipses are altogether "un-spectacular" — which [caused a number]() of [irked responses]() from skywatchers, as well as, uh, [the Wendy's fast food chain](). As one of said responders noted, seeing the Milky Way isn't all that uncommon — but that doesn't make it any less awe-inspiring. "The Milky Way can be seen most nights in the summer if you’re away from light pollution," they wrote, "and I’m in awe every time I see it." **Take that, Neil!** **More skywatching:** *[Remember When the Sun Shot a Ball of Plasma at the Earth? It Hit and Caused a Beautiful Aurora]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()