View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Blast off! Phil McGrew was at Wallops Island, Virginia, when he caught the blazing exhaust of the Cygnus NG-14 resupply mission, seconds after launch, headed to the International Space Station. Phil wrote: “This is a single exposure a few seconds after liftoff. I spent hours trying to figure out the launch trajectory and a public location where I could see the rocket and the moon near each other. Going to this location meant I had to pass up on the initial liftoff (there will be others) and hope for the best. The body of the rocket isn’t visible because, well, it was dark outside.” Thank you, Phil!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Chuck Reinhart in Vincennes, Indiana, caught the moon and planet Mars together at late evening October 2, 2020. On that night, Mars was less than 2 weeks away from its once-in-2-years opposition. Since Mars is nearly opposite Earth from the sun now, it makes sense that the red planet would be near this month’s full moon. Chuck wrote: “I merged 2 photos taken seconds apart and from the same location to show the moon close to Mars.” Thank you, Chuck!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | From South America, Mars appeared even closer to the moon on the night of October 2, 2020. Helio C. Vital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, captured this beautiful image of the moon and Mars. In this photo, Mars is about in the 8 o’clock position. Helio wrote: “By very little, the close encounter failed to become a grazing occultation. Only 4 arcminutes separated Mars from the lunar limb.”View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Brian Ottum caught the moon and Mars on October 2, 2020. In this photo, Mars is the tiny dot in the upper right. He wrote: “I took this from my remote control telescope located in the New Mexico desert. Cloudy here in Michigan, so am happy to see it ‘virtually.'”View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Eliot Herman caught the moon just after full with Mars nearby, on October 2, 2020, from Tucson, Arizona. In this photo, Mars is in the upper left. He wrote: “The moon and Mars were really beautiful.”View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Niko Powe in Kiwonee, Illinois, captured Mars next to the Harvest Moon on October 2, 2020. Niko said: “There was a layer of clouds but these two’s appearance would not be denied.”View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Christine Kemp in the U.K. captured the full Harvest Moon showing off the weathervane of St. Werburgh’s Church in Spondon, Derby, on October 1. Because we had a full moon so early in October, there’s time to squeeze in a 2nd one. And – according to modern skylore – that 2nd full moon of October will carry the name Blue Moon. It’ll happen on October 31. View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Garry Hayes in Waterford, California, took this photo on October 1, 2020. He wrote: “California’s wildfires gave the moon an orange hue, but why not, since the next one will be blue!”View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Alexander Krivenyshev captured this image on October 1, 2020. He said: “Full Harvest Moon rests on the top of a building on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City.”View larger at EarthSky Community Photos. | Jim Goff caught the Harvest Moon on October 1, 2020, at 10:00 p.m. He wrote: “Harvest moon viewed from Redwood City, California.”View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Carlos Rios Martinez caught the Harvest Moon from La Bufa Hill in Zacatecas, Mexico, on September 30, 2020. Thank you, Carlos!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Kedar Prabhu captured the full moon and Mars among the clouds from Kumta, Karnataka state, India. Kedar wrote: “On full moon day, I was lucky enough to spot moon and Mars. I was amused as moon was being surrounded by clouds as if they wanted to not obstruct it.”View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Cissy Beasley captured the moon from Rockport, Texas, on September 30. She wrote: “As a longtime fan of the original StarDate radio show when I was a student at UT Austin, I have since been intrigued with nature photography. As a professional nature photographer, I eagerly embrace opportunities to capture scenes of sunrises and sunsets, and the moon. Last night, I found a nice spot for documenting the rising moon amid the Belt of Venus. Here is what I saw!” Gorgeous, Cissy. Thank you!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Anumeha Shukla in San Francisco caught the nearly full Harvest Moon on September 30, 2020. She wrote: “Sadly with all the wildfires going on in California, a smoky moonrise today!” Thank you, Anumeha.View at EarthSky Community Photos. | James Trezza on Captree Island, New York, caught this image on September 30, 2020, and wrote: “There was a slight haze at the horizon but the moon was able to sneak out a few times while it was still low enough.” Thank you, James.View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Raul Cortes in Monterrey, Mexico, caught the moon on September 30, 2020. He wrote: “A kid ‘catching the moon’ in his hand a day before the full Harvest Moon.” Thank you, Raul!
Deborah Byrd created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory since 1976, and created and produced their Star Date radio series. Today, she serves as Editor-in-Chief of this website. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. In 2020, she won the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society, the largest organization of professional astronomers in North America. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.
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