Space photo of the day: Total lunar eclipse crosses the sky above SpaceX's Crew-10 spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket

a time lapse of a total lunar eclipse is captured above a launch pad and a rocket waiting to lift off.
A time-lapse photo of a total lunar eclipse as viewed over a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft at Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, March 13-14, 2025. (Image credit: SpaceX)

A total lunar eclipse was visible across North America overnight Wednesday (March 13 to 14, 2025), including this unique perspective from Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

What is it?

A SpaceX photographer captured this time-lapse image of the "Blood Moon" above the company's Dragon spacecraft "Endurance" and Falcon 9 rocket, as the vehicles waited to launch Crew-10 to the International Space Station.

A total lunar eclipse occurs when the sun, Earth and moon align and the entire moon moves within the darkest part of Earth's shadow.

Where is it?

Kennedy Space Center's Complex 39A on Florida's Space Coast is a historic launch pad. Appropriate to the eclipse, it is site where all of the astronauts to walk on the moon lifted off from Earth. It was also used by the space shuttle before it was leased by SpaceX for Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy and future Starship launches.

The March 13-14 total lunar eclipse was visible from most of the Western Hemisphere where the weather cooperated.

Why is it amazing?

The Crew-10 Dragon and Falcon 9 would not have been there for the photo had it launched when first attempted on Wednesday (March 12). A problem with the clamps holding the rocket to its erector resulted in a scrub.

The silver lining was it being present for the eclipse.

the reddish-brown moon is seen above a spacecraft atop a rocket.

A total lunar eclipse, or "Blood Moon," is seen directly above SpaceX's Crew-10 Dragon "Endurance" atop Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 14, 2025. (Image credit: SpaceX)

Want to know more?

You can see more stunning photos of the "Blood Moon" and learn how to discern real images from fake shots of the eclipse.

For another unique vantage point, see the eclipse as it was viewed from the moon by Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lunar lander.

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.

Robert Z. Pearlman
collectSPACE.com Editor, Space.com Contributor

Robert Pearlman is a space historian, journalist and the founder and editor of collectSPACE.com, a daily news publication and community devoted to space history with a particular focus on how and where space exploration intersects with pop culture. Pearlman is also a contributing writer for Space.com and co-author of "Space Stations: The Art, Science, and Reality of Working in Space” published by Smithsonian Books in 2018.In 2009, he was inducted into the U.S. Space Camp Hall of Fame in Huntsville, Alabama. In 2021, he was honored by the American Astronautical Society with the Ordway Award for Sustained Excellence in Spaceflight History. In 2023, the National Space Club Florida Committee recognized Pearlman with the Kolcum News and Communications Award for excellence in telling the space story along the Space Coast and throughout the world.

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