Harvest Moon at Morning

 

Photo by Jan Hansen

The morning full moon is every bit as stunning as the night moon.

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Almost full moon

Tuesday's moon. Photo by Jan Hansen

This was the moon on Tuesday evening, working its way towards Saturday's full moon.

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Jupiter under a waning crescent moon

Photo by David Carlos

Jupiter under a waning crescent moon. The faint outline of the moon is from earthshine.

Taken with an iPhone.
5:45am, 9-8-26

David Carlos

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Lunar Eclipse

Here's another view of the lunar eclipse from contributor Steve Schneider, with an airplane in the shot.

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Eclipse of the moon

Despite the threat of poor visibility, moon watchers were out and captured views of Thursday night's eclipse of the moon.

Going...
Photo by Mike Remarcke

Mike Remarcke captured a view of the eclipse in progress.

Going...
Photo by Jo Simmons

Jo Simmons shared her views of the full eclipse.

GONE!
Photo by Jo Simmons

We often do not get to witness these celestial movements because of our perpetual cloud cover, but this night was a happy exception.

--Diane Hettrick

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Buck Moon

 Photo by Mike Remarcke

Mike says that most of the Moon Names come from indigenous people. Buck Moon is the month of the year that male, buck deer begin growing their antlers.

--Diane Hettrick

Updated 8-1-2026

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The Moon and Venus

 

Photo by Barbara Twaddell

Living under a persistent cloud cover we do not often get to see the stars. The unusually warm weather and cloudless skies presented an opportunity for photographers like Barbara Twaddell to show us what we have been missing.

--Diane Hettrick

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Moonrise at 4am

Photo by Mike Remarcke

Just a sliver of a moon in the 4am sky, as the sun makes a rosy background for the Cascade mountain range.

 

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Blue Moon Alert - Sunday May 31, 2026

Blue Moon
Spaceweather.com

BLUE MOON ALERT: Tonight's full Moon is no ordinary full Moon. It's a Blue Moon. To see it, step outside at sunset and spin round to face east. Just don't be surprised if it is orange:

This is a "calendar Blue Moon," the second full Moon within a single calendar month. May 2026 opened with a full Moon at the start of the month, and now closes with another. According to tradition, the second full Moon is "Blue."

Two full Moons squeeze into a single month once every two to three years. The phenomenon does not alter the Moon's natural colors. Low-hanging Blue Moons are typically orange (because of scattering in the atmosphere) while overhead Blue Moons are the gray shades of moonrock.

But here's the twist: Moons CAN actually turn blue. It's rare, but real.

True blue Moons require unusual atmospheric conditions caused by forest fires and volcanoes. When the air is loaded with smokey particles slightly wider than the wavelength of red light (about 1 micron across) those particles preferentially scatter red wavelengths while letting blue light pass through. The result: a Moon tinged genuinely blue.

Following the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa, observers reported blue Moons for nearly two years. The 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens produced them, as did the 1991 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo. Smoke from wildfires in western Canada in September 1950 turned Moons blue across North America and Europe for weeks.

This Sunday, step outside and look up. The Moon will be full, bright, and, barring a volcanic calamity or forest fire, stubbornly silver. Enjoy the "Blue" moonlight anyway!

--SpaceWeather.com is written by Dr. Tony Phillips

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Blood Moon

Shoreline resident ShiXing Wen was able to find a break in the clouds to take this gorgeous photo of the Blood Moon. 

A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, with an umbral magnitude of 1.1507.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow, causing the Moon to be darkened. --Wikipedia

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Full moon over the mountains

Photo by Ken Berkun

The full moon shines through the haze over the mountains.

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The rare Blood moon will appear March 3, 2026 at 3am in a rare lunar eclipse

In the early hours of March 3, 2026, the Moon will slip completely into Earth’s shadow and glow in deep crimson red during peak totality. This rare and powerful lunar eclipse will be visible across the United States, with timing depending on your time zone.

From the West Coast before dawn to the East Coast near sunrise, skywatchers will have a chance to witness this breathtaking celestial event. 

Peak time for the West Coast is 3 - 4am.

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Full moon and high water

Photo by Jo Simmons

Full moon on December 4, 2025.

This is the culprit that is helping to exacerbate the King Tides on the Washington and Oregon coast - and Port Townsend in Puget Sound.

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Full Moon minus a few hours

 

Photo by Jo Simmons

The official full moon is Monday but Jo Simmons had a clear view on Sunday and took the opportunity to get this amazingly clear photo.

A reader adds: 

The first October Harvest moon in 5 years and the first Supermoon of 2025.

Oops - wrote "new" moon when it was supposed to be "Full" moon. I must have been moonstruck - Ed.

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Wildfire smoke makes it to Shoreline - clouded skies and orange moon

Not the usual color of the morning sky
Photo by Claudia Meadows

After a smoke-free summer, the wildfire smoke finally found its way to Shoreline. It was obvious Friday morning when Claudia Meadows took the early morning sun photo.

Smoky clouds as the sun starts to go down
Photo by Barbara Twaddell

Smoke was still in the air when the sun was setting and Barbara Twaddell watched it disappear into the clouds.

The sun disappeared into a thick cloud of smoke over the Olympics
Photo by Barbara Twaddell

David Walton found some visibility in the night sky to get this photo of the moon, colored orange by the smoke still in the air.

Orange moon
Photo by David Walton

We've been very lucky this year that this is the first time we've had smoke. And I don't really think it was my fault for posting articles about the wildfires in the state.

--Diane Hettrick

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Full moon and garden

Photo by Claudia Meadows

The official full moon is Wednesday June 11, 2025 but this one, taken two days earlier, is holding its own in this romantic garden scene.

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Just under the wire - full moon

Photo by Jo Simmons

Romantic moon with artistically arranged clouds

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Lunar Eclipse alert: The full Worm Moon

North America is squarely in the visibility zone for the March 13-14 total lunar eclipse.
Graphic courtesy SpaceWeather.com

LUNAR ECLIPSE ALERT: The full Worm Moon is about to pass through Earth's shadow, producing a lunar eclipse visible from North and South America. 

The action begins on Thursday night, March 13, 2025. In the Pacific time zone, the eclipse straddles the midnight divide between March 13th and 14th.

Find out when to look on today's edition of Spaceweather.com.

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Snow Moon

Photo by Jan Hansen

The Snow Moon is bright in the sky. Called the Snow moon because February is often the snowiest month of the year for north America, it's living up to its name.

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Beaver Moon

Photo by Jan Hansen

Have you been able to see the dramatic full moon the past few days? When I first saw it, it was huge, low in the sky over the top of Kenmore, looking like it would crush the treetops.

Later in the evening it was in its proper place high in the sky, although in my view it was not as pretty as in the photo by Barbara Twaddell.

Photo by Barbara Twaddell

Barbara Twaddell checked the Farmer's Almanac and found this explanation of the name.

"Why the “Beaver” Moon? This is the time of year when beavers begin to take shelter in their lodges, having laid up sufficient food stores for the long winter ahead. During the fur trade in North America, it was also the season to trap beavers for their thick, winter-ready pelts."

--Diane Hettrick

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