The Moon in mid-total eclipse, on January 20, 2019, with it shining beside the Beehive star cluster, Messier 44, in Cancer. This was the unique sight at this eclipse as it can happen only during total lunar eclipses that occur in late January. There was one on January 31, 2018 but the next will not be until 2037. This view tries to emulate the visual scene through binoculars, though the camera picks up more stars and makes the Moon more vivid than it appears to the eye. However, creating a view that looks even close to what the eye can see in this case takes a blend of exposures: a 1-minute exposure at ISO 800 and f/2.8 for the stars, which inevitably overexposes the Moon. So I’ve blended in three shorter exposures for the Moon, taken immediately after the long “star” exposure. These were 8, 4 and 2 seconds at ISO 400 and f/4, and all with the Canon 200mm telephoto on a Fornax Lightrack II tracking mount to follow the stars. At this eclipse the Moon passed across the northern half of the umbra, leaving the top of the Moon bright, even at mid-totality as it was here. These were taken from a site near Lloydminster, in Saskatchewan, where skies proved clear all night, better than the prospects back at home 500 km farther south in Alberta. It was worth the drive north the day before the eclipse.
The Milky Way in the region of the Galactic Centre in Sagittarius, photographed with it high in the sky from Australia. The actual centre of the Galaxy lies near centre of the frame. The dark clouds that form the Dark Horse and the Pipe Nebula are at right. The clusters Messier 6 and Messier 7 are at bottom, with M7 lost in the star clouds of the Milky Way. The Lagoon and Trifid Nebulas, M8 and M20, are at top. Saturn is the bright star at top right. The Dark Horse region of dark dust is at right, with the darkest part below being the Pipe Nebula, B78. The small Snake Nebula, B72, is at right. This is a stack of 4 x 2-minute exposures at f/2.8 with the Rokinon 85mm lens, and filter-modified Canon 5D MkII at ISO 2500. Taken from Tibuc Gardens Cottage near Coonabarabran, Australia. The image could be turned 90° CCW to better resemble its orientation in the sky in which it was photographed in the southern hemisphere, This orientation matches the view in the northern hemisphere. Some haze in one of the frames added the natural star glows.
