In the realm of celestial phenomena, few occurrences ignite the imagination quite like the sight of a Blue Moon. Recently, I had the opportunity to witness and photograph the mesmerizing Blue Moon rising over Morgantown, West Virginia, and the iconic campus of West Virginia University (WVU). Not everything worked out as planned, but I did end up with some intriguing images of this rare event.
The Blue Moon Phenomenon
Before diving into the photographic adventure, let’s unravel the mystery of the Blue Moon. Contrary to popular belief, the term “Blue Moon” has nothing to do with the moon’s color. Instead, it refers to the rare occurrence of having two full moons within a single calendar month. This phenomenon happens roughly every 2.7 years, making it a captivating event for photographers eager to capture its beauty. However, the blue moon in August 2023 was special by also being a supermoon.
In fact, it’s the closest Supermoon of 2023. “Supermoon” is a catchy term for what astronomers call “a perigean full Moon” which is when the full Moon happens at or near its closest point to Earth in its oval-shaped orbit. This August it was exceptionally close in Moon miles from Earth (222,043 miles). The next time we’ll have a closer full Supermoon is November 5, 2025, when the moon lies 221,817 miles from Earth. And it will exceed the disk size of an average-sized Moon by up to 8% and the brightness of an average-sized full Moon by some 16%. Wow – worth getting out the tripod and finding the perfect location!
Choosing the Perfect Location
You can take a photo of the moon with a long telephoto lens at any time. This is the blue moon on the day after the first full moon:
What makes the moon interesting is when it can seen as a key part of a location that is itself interesting. Scouting the right location is crucial to capturing the essence of any celestial event. For the Blue Moon over Morgantown, I opted for the interesting scene of the downtown campus of WVU as seen from the University Town Center. With the Appalachian Mountains behind, the campus provided a captivating foreground that complemented the celestial spectacle above.
Bad luck strikes!
After carefully researching exactly where the blue moon would rise over downtown, the next step is to find a location where the moon will rise over Woodburn Hall itself. Somewhere behind Target, I thought. The evening was looking great with a magnificent sunset lighting the sky in the west with brilliant red hues. But strike one of the evening occurred – the security guard at the shopping mall wouldn’t let us park behind Target and moved us along! So, while the sunset continued to evolve, we had to drive to an alternative viewpoint. I tried my luck in the student housing on the hilltop, but that is surrounded by a high chain-link fence and so my only opportunity was to hold the camera high in the air and try to visualize the shot! First piece of luck – I did manage to capture a sharp, well exposed view of the scene over the Monongahela River towards downtown Morgantown. It was looking pretty nice by now as the sunset had started to fade in the far west. With Granville on the banks of the river, I thought this would make a great panorama!
So, we made our way to an alternative viewpoint of the city where we could use a tripod for the long exposure shots we planned to take of the moon. Strike two – while the sky to the west was brilliantly clear to the west, clouds were still gathered in the east where the moon was due to rise.
Never one to give up, I decided to concentrate on other opportunities while we waited for a glimpse of this famous moon. First up was a great view of the WVU Coliseum and the JW Ruby Memorial Hospital.
And we waited and waited! I noticed that as it was getting dark, the lights around Woodburn Hall and the downtown campus began to create an interesting and colorful image in its own right. With a long lens (and using my body to shield the lens from the wind for the 6 second exposure), I was able to capture this close-up of Woodburn Hall and the adjacent college and student housing.
I’ve often said that the greatest skill a photographer has to have is patience! No sign of the moon, but I saw the lights coming on in the dock area down by the Monongahela River. Interesting, I thought, and captured this image:
But even for a dedicated photographer, we decided that the moon was just not going to make an appearance over the city that night!
The Enchanting Moment
August 31st was bright and clear. I had already taken a hike to view the Cheat River canyon from Snake Hill (the subject of an article to come), and although the moon is not strictly full, it is almost as good. Call it a pale blue moon perhaps! So down to the viewpoint again to try to capture the scene.
The problem with the second day after a full moon is that it not only rises about 45 minutes later when the sky and surroundings are much darker, but it also rises in a different place – further to the left when looking at the city. To have found a new viewpoint to align the moon with downtown would have lost the river and the alignment of the buildings.
I did take a chance and capture a very high-resolution panorama over the city from behind Target which shows the very different sky on the second evening. For the technically minded, this is over 13,000 pixels wide and so would easily print a 10 foot (3m) piece of wall art! If only I had the space in my home!
As the moment of moonrise approached, I felt a surge of anticipation. The sky transformed from hues of dusky blue to rich indigo, setting the stage for the moon’s grand entrance. With bated breath, I captured the first glimpses of the almost Blue Moon rising majestically above the Appalachian skyline. Further to the north than we had hoped, but still magnificent!
I haven’t added this one to my online gallery. If you are interested in a print, please let me know.
I did capture a vertical format print which has the glow from the moon lighting up the sky and the WVU campus and river as the main subjects:
Post-Processing Magic
Back in my studio, I did think it would only be fair to compensate for the bad luck of clouds spoiling the fun on the first evening. So, I decided to work a little magic by moving the moon from where it was on the second night into the spot it would have occupied if the clouds had cleared! I hope you enjoy these two final (imaginary) photographs of the Blue Moon rising over the WVU campus in Morgantown!
