Astrophotographer Josh Dury captured a beautifully composed display of March’s full moon as it rose off the coast of the UK just hours after a dramatic blood moon total lunar eclipse.
March full moon is known as the worm moon to refer to the time of year when the ground softens enough for earthworms and beetles to come out into the open. The worm moon in 2026 coincidentally coincided with a total lunar eclipsewhen the lunar disc passed within the inner part of the planet’s shadow known as its umbra, causing it to turn a rusty red color like the light of each sunrise and sunset on Earth was broken on the surface.
The article continues below
Dury took several evocative images of the cloud-striped worm moon rising on the night of March 3 using a telephoto lens, before combining them into a single visually stunning composition during the post-processing phase, charting its path through the evening sky.
The characteristic red of the moon in Dury’s image had nothing to do with the eclipse itself – which had occurred hours earlier – but rather the result of an atmospheric phenomenon called Rayleigh scattering.
As the moon’s reflected sunlight makes a long journey through Earth’s atmosphere while near the horizon, bluer wavelengths are filtered and blocked by particles in our atmosphere, while longer red wavelengths are able to pass relatively undisturbed. This effect gave the moon a rusty hue, which was made all the more spectacular by the presence of airborne dust, which had been carried by atmospheric currents thousands of miles north from the Sahara desert.
Inspired to take your own photos of the moon? Then you must remember to read our expert’s guide to photographing the lunar surfacewritten by Dury, together with our summaries of best lenses and camera bodies to capture the sky after sunset.
Editor’s Note: If you would like to share your lunar photography with Space.com readers, please send your photos, comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.
