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Last night on November 8, 2022, people all over Japan had their heads turned upwards at the night sky to see a blood moon and a very rare astronomical event: a total lunar eclipse and an occultation of Uranus, something which had not occurred in the last 442 years.

Some were armed with expensive cameras and others with only their smartphones, but many people tried to capture images of this "miraculous phenomenon." Of course, since not all smartphones have cameras capable of accurately capturing celestial bodies at night, the images that resulted weren't all satisfactory.

In fact, the situation was such that a hashtag entitled #月食写真下手くそ選手権 or "failed lunar eclipse photo championship" trended on Twitter, with many photos of failed attempts being shared.

Twitter user みりこ Mariko (@mariko78_k_b) contributed one of them that drew quite a few online laughs.

She tried to take a picture of the blood moon, but the result was beyond her imagination. Please take a look at this photo:

Reproduced with permission from みりこ Mariko (@mariko78_k_b)

According to Mariko, she ended up capturing not a moon but a "Pon de Ring" donut!

For those who are unfamiliar with it, the Pon de Ring was inspired by poi mochi balls invented in Hawaii in the early 1990s and launched by Mister Donut in 2003. Chewy donuts made with tapioca flour, they are instantly recognizable due to their shape, formed from eight balls. Although they're sold in some places in the US as "mochi donuts," in Japan, they are ubiquitous and continue to be a best-selling product.

さえぼー, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A pink Pon de Ring in the night sky

Perhaps the camera was shaken when taking the picture and the subject was blurred, resulting in this photo.

The post elicited many comments, such as:

  • "I started out my morning laughing thanks to this. I think we can make a product called 'Lunar Eclipse Pon de Ring!'"
  • "This one's a championship winner. You can't make a photo like this if you tried, so it's amazing!"
  • "It's a Pon de Ring that went to heaven and became a star. It made me laugh so hard!"

It would seem that the coincidence of a total lunar eclipse and a planetary occultation wasn't the only "miracle" in the sky last night. This one tickled the funny bones of donut-loving foodies too!


By - grape Japan editorial staff.