People Just Found Out How Bad Smartphones Are at Photographing the Moon

Most people use their smartphones as their go-to snapshot camera these days, and the impressive image quality of the latest models is great for recording everyday memories. The small sensor and lens do have their limitations, though, and quite a few people found that out last night when they pulled out their smartphones to photograph the supermoon lunar eclipse.

As the world oohed and aahed at the ultra-large eclipse, the Internet became flooded with poor quality smartphone photos showing the blood moon as a pixelated blob of color. Both famous journalists and the general public alike bemoaned their failed photos:

Mmmmm not @neiltyson approved but I tried! #Supermoon pic.twitter.com/sT3JeJRehl

— Katie Couric (@katiecouric) September 28, 2015

@katiecouric I tried my best too pic.twitter.com/uOlcCrcrt6

— Tom Murphy (@murphy1849) September 28, 2015

Fox reporter Heather Hegedus hopes smartphone cameras will be up to the task by the next supermoon lunar eclipse in 2033:

Maybe by the next #Supermoon smart phones will take better pictures of the sky! Who knows what 2033 holds! #Fox25 pic.twitter.com/zMaTT0AD9G

— Heather Hegedus (@HeatherHegedus) September 28, 2015

Newer iPhones managed to capture barely recognizable closeups of the blood moon:

Well, wish I had a better camera with me rather than my iPhone, the #Supermoon is awesome! pic.twitter.com/52IpmiV5q8

— Lori McNee (@lorimcneeartist) September 28, 2015

Thanks, iPhone. For this super awesome, high quality photo of the #Supermoon ?? pic.twitter.com/HyfYZjxmtp

— erin (@sherwoodywood) September 28, 2015

…but older iPhones struggled to keep up:

Trying to take a pic of the moon on an iPhone 4s: #fail #Supermoon pic.twitter.com/VHvxnXFdOB

— Kala Rafuse (@KalaRafuse) September 28, 2015

@SeanBattySTV my iPhone turned the super moon in to a super nova! pic.twitter.com/6jjuKvAo5F

— Steven McGuire (@smitfa01) September 28, 2015

Quality like no other. A supermoon at its brightest phase. Shot on IPhone 4. pic.twitter.com/cY9BDoMvdq

— Sevin Gulfield (@sevin707) September 28, 2015

The blurry blobs in the photos are reminiscent of NASA’s early photos of Pluto when we could only photograph it with the Hubble space telescope:

Not a spectacular photo fro@my phone but the big orange ball is rising! #supermoon pic.twitter.com/Ux5ClVsDZc

— Becky Henchman (@EatPlayThaw) September 28, 2015

And from far away on a sub par smartphone. #Supermoon #astronomy pic.twitter.com/jFSUeYwzJQ

— Michelle Ton (@MichelleNTon) September 28, 2015

Definitely worth waking up for #Supermoon #LunarEclipse ! pic.twitter.com/x4sf8KkSnl

— Eleesha Drennan (@EleeshaDrennan) September 28, 2015

Here's mine now show me yours #LunarEclipse #Supermoon pic.twitter.com/wsnC48BSrm

— shorty (@ssropin) September 28, 2015

Here’s what people had to say:

These horrible super moon iPhone photos may be the only thing worse than those horrible fireworks iPhone photos. #SuperMoon

— Luke Barnett (@Iamlukebarnett) September 28, 2015

If I see one more dodgy iPhone photo on fb of the super moon I'm going to scream.

— Suzie FW (@Suzzzzz) September 28, 2015

am i the only person who didn’t take a blurry iphone photo of the supermoon eclipse last night?

— jaclyn siu (@jaclynsiu) September 28, 2015

While the vast majority of smartphone snapshots from the eclipse didn’t turn out well, some did — namely, those who attached their phones to telescopes and other serious lenses to shoot at a much greater focal length:

Clear skies here for last night's showstopper. Shot thru iPhone and birding scope. #blood moon #super moon #eclipse pic.twitter.com/v2LXUdXLKE

— Debby Kaspari (@DaMotmot) September 28, 2015

Moon eclipse tonight at the Allen Telescope Array #ATASETI. Taken with my iPhone and a 60mm telescope. pic.twitter.com/oKB7496Xmj

— Jon Richards (@jrseti) September 28, 2015

Last night's eclipse, photo by my 16-yr-old. Not bad for an iPhone held up to a telescope's eyepiece. #LunarEclipse pic.twitter.com/xmZsauTw2N

— Tracy Boyington (@TracyBoyington) September 28, 2015

Needless to say, if you’re planning on capturing your own photographic memento the next time a lunar eclipse comes around, you might want to invest in either some serious camera gear or a powerful telescope instead of relying on the camera on your phone.

(H/T Mashable)