Full Moon Eclipsed, Milky Way Revealed

During full moon, the bright moonlight washes out most of the interesting features in the night sky. What happens if the moonlight is blocked out?

This image, taken just after midnight of August 28, 2026 during a deep partial lunar eclipse, answers the question. Even when 96.3% of the lunar surface was in Earth’s shadow, the moon, the bright orb on the left, is still the brightest object in the sky. However, with the moonlight greatly dimmed, the Milky Way is now clearly visible, while airglow painted the sky green and red, Cities across Lake Ontario (Rochester, Buffalo and Niagara Falls) gave the horizon its golden glow.

This image is a three-panel mosaic shot with my 14mm ultra-wide angle lens, covering from the horizon to the zenith and beyond.