Although the lunar eclipse on the evening of 20 Jan 2019 was seen by countless millions across the Americas, Arizona was not the place to be! Clouds of varying thickness covered the entire state, including my location in south central Arizona.

The image below shows the eclipse during totality with Praesepe (the Beehive Cluster) at bottom. The moon’s aura was caused by the thick cloud cover (which also blocked the stars). Two bright stars of the constellation Cancer are visible near the cluster: To the left is γ Cancri (Asellus Borealis) and lower right is δ Cancri (Asellus Australis).