Lunar eclipse 2014: How L.A. saw the blood moon

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The lunar eclipse began at 1:15 a.m. PDT Oct. 8, 2014. (Raul Roa / Times Community News)

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Penumbra is when the moon moves into the outer shadow of the Earth. (Raul Roa / Times Community News)

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Wednesday’s event was the second lunar eclipse of 2014 and was best seen from the Pacific and bordering regions, according to NASA. (Raul Roa / Times Community News)

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The viewing became more exciting as Earth’s shadow spread. (Raul Roa / Times Community News)

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Alan MacRobert of Sky and Telescope: “If you were standing on the moon during a total lunar eclipse, you would see the Earth as a black disk with a brilliant orange ring around it.” (Raul Roa / Times Community News)

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L.A. Times science reporter Deborah Netburn explains that even when the moon is entirely in the shadow of the Earth, it’s visible against the night sky as it reflects Earth’s sunsets and sunrises. (Raul Roa / Times Community News)

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The full lunar eclipse began at 3:25 a.m. PDT and continued until 4:24 a.m. (Raul Roa / Times Community News)

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NASA says the Oct. 8 eclipse was the 42nd of a family of 72 eclipses that began with a penumbral eclipse on July 9, 1275, and will end with another penumbral eclipse on Sept. 2, 2555. Read more at the NASA Eclipse website. (Raul Roa / Times Community News)

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All the stages of the lunar eclipse were visible from the northwestern one-third of North America, according to NASA. (Raul Roa / Times Community News)

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There are no more lunar eclipses this year, although Oct. 23 will bring a partial eclipse of the sun. (Raul Roa / Times Community News)

By Amy Hubbard, Kelly Parker

Oct. 8, 2014 12:27 PM PT

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For the second total lunar eclipse of 2014 — a so-called blood moon — L.A. had one of the best seats in the house.

The eclipse was best seen from the Pacific Ocean and border regions, according to NASA. And some Southern Californians made sure they were awake in the wee hours to watch the shadow of Earth creep across the face of the moon.

As the L.A. Times' Deborah Netburn reported, the dramatic part of the eclipse began at 2:14 a.m. PDT, with totality at 3:25 a.m. Griffith Observatory live-streamed the eclipse, which you can watch now if you missed it the first time around. The photo gallery above shows the event step by step.

California

Amy Hubbard

Amy Hubbard is a deputy editor on the Fast Break Desk, the Los Angeles Times’ breaking news team. She’s worked in a range of departments at The Times since 1993, including as copy chief for daily Calendar, Travel, Books and the AM Copy Desk; SEO chief; morning editor on the Metro desk; and assistant newsletters editor. In 2015, she began a four-year stint at personal finance website NerdWallet, where she was the Banking editor. Hubbard is a graduate of the University of Missouri, Columbia, School of Journalism.

Lunar eclipse 2014: How L.A. saw the blood moon

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