Witnessing a Blood Moon, Lunar Eclipse, and Aurora Borealis All At Once

How many natural phenomena does it take to create a gorgeous photo? 💡

We’re not sure it takes more than one, but when professional landscape and travel photographer Dan Zafra traveled to Alaska recently, he got a trifecta.

Timing his trip to coincide with a Blood Moon and total lunar eclipse, Zafra also chose Alaska, which often experiences the Aurora Borealis. He and his team traveled to an area outside of Fairbanks, to capture the moment as fully as possible.

The confluence of these phenomena created some stunning backdrops from which to take photographs.

In Zafra’s beautiful timelapse and still images, the sky is an emerald green, punctuated with an orange-red moon.

Thanks to the aurora substorm, it’s a color combination we’re never seen in the sky before, and truly a once-in a lifetime photo event.

See more of this amazing photo expedition on Capture the Atlas, and Zafra’s Instagram.

Images © Copyright Capture the Atlas. Images used with artist’s permission.

Check out the Timelapse of the total lunar eclipse and aurora substorm below, which shows these fleeting yet beautifully special moments.

In it, the moon almost looks like a glowing orb of copper or gold.