Eclipses - Lunar
Success Selfie with Lunar Eclipse (Jan 20, 2019)
A selfie of the successful eclipse chaser bagging his trophy, the total lunar eclipse of January 20, 2019. This was from a site south of Lloydminster on the Alberta-Saskatchewan border, but just over into the Saskatchewan side. The area promised the best prospects for clear skies this night and predictions proved accurate, and made the 5-hour drive north from home well worth it. This is an untracked single exposure of 15 seconds at ISO 3200 and f/2.8 with the Sigma 20mm Art lens and Nikon D750. However, I blended in a shorter 1-second exposure for the red eclipsed Moon itself to prevent its disk from overexposing as it would in any exposure long enough to record the Milky Way. The eye can see both eclipsed Moon and Milky Way together in the sky at once, but the camera cannot. So it takes a blend of exposures to show the sky the way the eye saw it. In the picture is my other camera in use that night, the Canon 6D MkII with a 200mm lens on a Fornax tracker for taking tracked close-ups of the Moon near the Beehive star cluster. The green light is from the dew heater in use around the lens to ward off frost over the 4 hour shoot.
Looking at the Lunar Eclipse with Binoculars
A selfie of me looking up at the total eclipse of the Moon on January 20, 2019, using binoculars to enjoy the view. The Moon was in Cancer, near the Beehive star cluster and east of the winter Milky Way here at centre. Sirius is the bright star above me; Orion is at right. The object to the left of the Moon is the Beehive star cluster, Messier 44, in Cancer. I shot this from an oil well access road south of Lloydminster, just over the Alberta-Saskatchewan boundary on the Saskatchewan side, just east of Highway 17 which runs along the border. This is a single untracked exposure of 25 seconds at f/2.8 and ISO 1600 with the Nikon D750 and Sigma 20mm Art lens, but with a shorter exposure of 1 second blended in for the Moon itself so it retains its color and appearance to the naked eye. Your eye can see the eclipsed Moon and Milky Way well but the camera cannot in a single exposure. The scene, taken just after the start of totality, just fit into the field of the 20mm lens. A little later in the night it did not. The temperature was about -15° C this night but with little or no wind and little frost to contend with.
Looking at the Lunar Eclipse with the Naked Eye
A selfie of me looking up at the total eclipse of the Moon on January 20, 2019, using just the naked eye to enjoy the view. The Moon was in Cancer, near the Beehive star cluster and east of the winter Milky Way here at centre. Sirius is the bright star above me; Orion is at right. The object to the left of the Moon is the Beehive star cluster, Messier 44, in Cancer. I shot this from an oil well access road south of Lloydminster, just over the Alberta-Saskatchewan boundary on the Saskatchewan side, just east of Highway 17 which runs along the border. This is a single untracked exposure of 25 seconds at f/2.8 and ISO 1600 with the Nikon D750 and Sigma 20mm Art lens, but with a shorter exposure of 1 second blended in for the Moon itself so it retains its color and appearance to the naked eye. Your eye can see the eclipsed Moon and Milky Way well but the camera cannot in a single exposure. The scene, taken just after the start of totality, just fit into the field of the 20mm lens. A little later in the night it did not. The temperature was about -15° C this night but with little or no wind and little frost to contend with.
Eclipsed Moon Beside the Beehive
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.
Eclipsed Moon and Umbral Shadow
The Moon in total eclipse, on January 20, 2019, in a multiple exposure composite showing the Moon moving from right to left (west to east) through the Earth’s umbral shadow. The middle image is from just after mid-totality at about 10:21 pm MST, while the partial eclipse shadow ingress image set is from 9:15 pm and the partial eclipse shadow egress image set is from 11:15 pm. I added in two images at either end taken at the very start and end of the umbral eclipse to add a more complete sequence of the lunar motion. However, on those images the lunar disk is darkened mostly by the penumbra. All images are with the Canon 6D MkII on a Fornax Lightrack II tracking mount to follow the stars at the sidereal rate, to keep the stars fixed and let the Moon drift from right to left against the background stars. Thus, the Moon images are where they were in relation to the background stars and therefore show the Moon’s motion through the umbral shadow, with the shadow edge on the partially eclipsed Moons defining the shape of the large and circular umbral shadow of the Earth, approximately three times bigger than the Moon. At this eclipse the Moon moved across the north edge of the umbral so we are seeing the top of the shadow circle drawn here in the sky. At this eclipse the Moon was also 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. The central image of totality includes 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. The two partial eclipse phases are stacks of 7 exposures each, from very short for the bright portion of the lunar disk, to long for the shadowed portion. They are blended with luminosity masks created with ADP Pro v3 panel for Photoshop, but modified with feathering to blend the images smoothly. This sort of “HDR” blending is necessary to depict the eclipsed Moon as your eye saw it, as while the eye can encompass the great range of brightness across the eclipsed Moon’s disk the camera cannot. Even the totality image is a blend of exposures, as the top part of the Moon was quite bright at this eclipse due to the Moon’s path across the northern half of the umbra. The timing of the partial eclipse images about 1 hour before and 1 hour after the central image places the lunar disk against the stars so those disks don’t overlap. But …. ….The images aren’t quite symmetrical for shadow placement and phase, because as luck would have it, the drive of the Fornax tracker, which has a limited travel, decided to run out of travel right at mid-eclipse at 10:15. All is needed was another 10 minutes of travel, but no! This required resetting the drive, then reaiming and reframing the camera right at the worst time, and taking time. So the timing and orientation of the latter images were compromised, requiring a little fudging on my part to place the egress set. However, the overall placement of the Moon and shadow is close to reality and the composite serves to illustrate the concept. 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 total eclipse of the Moon over a peak of the Continental Divide at the Crowsnest Pass area of the Canadian Rocky Mountains in southwest Alberta, before dawn on the morning of January 31, 2018. The Moon was setting into the west. The Moon is just south (left) of the large binocular star cluster, M44, or the Beehive Cluster in Cancer. Shortly after this, clouds wafting off the peak engulfed the Moon and I lost sight of it. However, this was at 6:44 am MST, about 20 minutes before the end of totality. This was a much publicized Blue Moon and Supermoon eclipse. This is a blend of a 15-second exposure for the sky and foreground, and a shorter 1-second exposure for the Moon to prevent its disk from being overexposed, despite it being dim and deep red in totality. Both were at f/2.8 with the 50mm Sigma lens on the Canon 6D MkII at ISO 1600. Untracked, so the stars are trailed.
The total eclipse of the Moon over a peak of the Continental Divide at the Crowsnest Pass area of the Canadian Rocky Mountains in southwest Alberta, before dawn on the morning of January 31, 2018. The Moon was setting into the west. The Moon is just south (left) of the large binocular star cluster, M44, or the Beehive Cluster in Cancer. Shortly after this, clouds wafting off the peak engulfed the Moon and I lost sight of it. However, this was at 6:44 am MST, about 20 minutes before the end of totality. This was a much publicized Blue Moon and Supermoon eclipse. This is a blend of a 15-second exposure for the sky and foreground, and a shorter 1-second exposure for the Moon to prevent its disk from being overexposed, despite it being dim and deep red in totality. Both were at f/2.8 with the 50mm Sigma lens on the Canon 6D MkII at ISO 1600. Untracked, so the stars are trailed.
Red Moon over the Rockies Panorama
A panorama of the total eclipse of the Moon on January 31, 2018 from the Crowsnest Pass area of the Alberta Rocky Mountains near the Continental Divide. Crowsnest Mountain itself is at far right. Cassiopeia is just above Crowsnest Mountain. Gemini is just setting right of centre. This was about 6:33 am MST, just after mid-totality, but with the Moon still in some cloud, as it typically was this morning. This was from near Coleman, Alberta. The panorama is from 8 segments, each with the 35mm lens at f/2.8 for 15 seconds at ISO 1600 with the Canon 6D MkII. Stitching was with Adobe Camera Raw. The Moon itself is blend of 4 exposures: 15 seconds, 4 seconds, 1 second, and 1/4 second to retain the red disk of the eclipsed Moon while bringing out the stars in the twilight sky. This was looking west as the Moon was setting.
Red Moon over the Rockies Panorama
A panorama of the total eclipse of the Moon on January 31, 2018 from the Crowsnest Pass area of the Alberta Rocky Mountains near the Continental Divide. Crowsnest Mountain itself is at far right. Cassiopeia is just above Crowsnest Mountain. Gemini is just setting right of centre. This was about 6:33 am MST, just after mid-totality, but with the Moon still in some cloud, as it typically was this morning. This was from near Coleman, Alberta. The panorama is from 8 segments, each with the 35mm lens at f/2.8 for 15 seconds at ISO 1600 with the Canon 6D MkII. Stitching was with Adobe Camera Raw. The Moon itself is blend of 4 exposures: 15 seconds, 4 seconds, 1 second, and 1/4 second to retain the red disk of the eclipsed Moon while bringing out the stars in the twilight sky. This was looking west as the Moon was setting.
Total Lunar Eclipse over the Continental Divide
The total eclipse of the Moon on January 31, 2018 from the Crowsnest Pass area of the Alberta Rocky Mountains near the Continental Divide. The eclipsed Moon is in clouds wafting off the peaks. This was about 6:05 am MST, about 10 minutes after the start of totality when the bottom edge of the Moon was still quite bright. The star cluster right of the Moon is M44, the Beehive. This was from near Coleman, Alberta. The Moon and sky is a 7-image blend of short to long exposures (blended with luminosity masks) to better retain the Moon and its red colour during totality. The ground is a 4-image mean combined stack to smooth noise. All were with the 35mm Canon lens at f/2.8 and Canon 6D MkII at ISO 800, and untracked.
Total Lunar Eclipse over the Continental Divide
The total eclipse of the Moon on January 31, 2018 from the Crowsnest Pass area of the Alberta Rocky Mountains near the Continental Divide. The eclipsed Moon is in clouds wafting off the peaks. This was about 6:05 am MST, about 10 minutes after the start of totality when the bottom edge of the Moon was still quite bright. The star cluster right of the Moon is M44, the Beehive. This was from near Coleman, Alberta. The Moon and sky is a 7-image blend of short to long exposures (blended with luminosity masks) to better retain the Moon and its red colour during totality. The ground is a 4-image mean combined stack to smooth noise. All were with the 35mm Canon lens at f/2.8 and Canon 6D MkII at ISO 800, and untracked.
The Full “Snow” Moon of February 10, 2017 undergoing a deep penumbral eclipse, and taken just past mid-eclipse with the Moon still in a deep blue twilight sky. The penumbral shading makes the Moon’s disk a little darker toward the top left (north) edge of the Moon and brighter toward the bottom edge. This shading could be seen with binoculars. Diffraction effects added the colours to the clouds. This is a composite of two exposures: long (1 sec) for the sky and short (1/125 sec) for the lunar disk details. Taken with the Canon 60Da and 200mm lens + 1.4x tele-extender. Untracked on a tripod.
Lunar Eclipse Closeup with Stars
The total eclipse of the Moon of September 27, 2015, in closeup through a telescope, at mid-totality with the Moon at its darkest and deepest into the umbral shadow, in a long exposure to bring out the stars surrounding the dark red moon. This was also the Harvest Moon for 2015 and was the perigee Full Moon, the closest Full Moon of 2015. This is a single exposure taken through the TMB 92mm refractor at f/5.5 for 500 mm focal length using the Canon 60Da at ISO 400 for 8 seconds, the longest I shot during totality. The telescope was on the SkyWatcher HEQ5 mount tracking at the lunar rate.
Total Lunar Eclipse Exposure Series
A series of the September 27, 2015 total lunar eclipse to demonstrate an exposure sequence from partial to total phase.
Lunar Eclipse From Beginning to End, To True Scale
This is a multiple-exposure composite of the total lunar eclipse of Sunday, September 27, 2015, as shot from Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park, Alberta, Canada. From this location the Moon rose in the east at lower left already in partial eclipse. As it rose it moved into Earth’s shadow and became more red and the sky darkened from twilight to night, bringing out the stars. Then, as the Moon continued to rise higher it emerged from the shadow, at upper right, and returned to being a brilliant Moon again, here overexposed and now illuminating the landscape with moonlight. The disks of the Moon become overexposed here as the sky darkened because I was setting exposures to show the sky and landscape well, not just the Moon itself. That’s because I shot the frames used to assemble this multiple-exposure still image primarily for use as a time-lapse movie where I wanted the entire scene well exposed in each frame. Indeed, for this still image composite of the eclipse from beginning to end, I selected just 40 frames taken at 5-minute intervals, out of 530 I shot in total, taken at 15- to 30-second intervals for the full time-lapse sequence. All were taken with a fixed camera, a Canon 6D, with a 35mm lens, to nicely frame the entire path of the Moon, from moonrise at left, until it left the frame at top right, as the partial eclipse was ending. The ground comes from a blend of 3 frames taken at the beginning, middle and end of the sequence, so is partly lit by twilight, moonlight and starlight. Lights at lower left are from the Park’s campground. The sky comes from a blend of 2 exposures: one from the middle of the eclipse when the sky was darkest and one from the end of the eclipse when the sky was now deep blue. The stars come from the mid-eclipse frame, a 30-second exposure. PLEASE NOTE: The size of the Moon and its path across the sky are accurate here, because all the images for this composite were taken with the same lens using a camera that did not move during the 3-hour eclipse. This is how big the Moon actually appeared in the sky in relation to the ground and how it moved across the sky during the eclipse, in what is essentially a straight line. Unlike most lunar eclipse composites you see, the Moon did NOT move in a huge arcing path across the sky during the eclipse. And sorry if the size of the Moon seems disappointngly small, but this is what a lunar eclipse really looks like to correct scale. By comparison, many lunar eclipse composites are made of giant moons shot with a telephoto lens that the photographer then pasted into a wide-angle sky scene, AND pasted in locations that usually bear no resemblance to where the Moon actually was in the sky, but are just placed where the photographer thought looked nice. I prefer accuracy over fantasy in such lunar eclipse scenes, which means NOT having monster-sized red Moons looming out of proportion over a landscape.
Selfie Success Shot at Lunar Eclipse
Me celebrating a successful total eclipse of the Moon during the final partial phases, observed and shot from Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park, Alberta, on September 27, 2015. I shot with 3 cameras, with a 4th to record the scene. Two of the cameras at centre are still shooting time-lapses of final partial phases. The camera at right was used to take long tracked exposures of the Milky Way during totality. The telescope at left was used just to look!
Me, in a selfie, observing a total eclipse of the Moon with binoculars on September 27, 2015, from Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park, Alberta. I had three cameras set up to shoot the eclipse and a fourth to shoot the scene like this. The night was perfect for the eclipse. The Moon is in totality here, with the stars and Moon trailed slightly from the long exposure.
Eclipsed Moon and Milky Way over Milk River
The Moon in total eclipse on September 27, 2015 – the “supermoon” eclipse – shining red over the Milk River and sandstone formations at Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park in southern Alberta, with the Milky Way in full view in the sky darkened by the lunar eclipse. The Sweetgrass Hills of Montana are to the south. The centre of the Milky Way is at far right. The Andromeda Galaxy is at upper left. The Moon was in Pisces below the Square of Pegasus. It was a perfectly clear night, ideal conditions for shooting the eclipse and stars. This is a stack of 5 x 2-minute tracked exposures for the sky and 5 x 4-minute untracked exposures for the ground to smooth noise. The Moon itself comes from a short 30-second exposure to avoid overexposing the lunar disk. Illumination of the ground is from starlight. All exposures with the 15mm lens at f/2.8 and Canon 5D MkII at ISO 1600. The camera was on the iOptron Sky-Tracker.
Eclipsed Moon over Writing-on-Stone
The Full Moon in total eclipse in the deep evening twilight over Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park, in southern Alberta, on September 27, 2015. This is a single exposure taken as part of a 730-frame time-lapse sequence. Exposure was 5 seconds at f/2.8 with the 35mm lens and Canon 6D at ISO 800.
Eclipsed Moon over Writing-on-Stone
The Full Moon in total eclipse in the deep evening twilight over Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park, in southern Alberta, on September 27, 2015. This is a single exposure taken as part of a 730-frame time-lapse sequence. Exposure was 5 seconds at f/2.8 with the 35mm lens and Canon 6D at ISO 800.
Eclipse Moonrise at Writing-on-Stone
The Full Moon rises in partial eclipse over the sandstone formations of Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park in southern Alberta, on the evening of September 27, 2015. This was the night of a total lunar eclipse, which was in progress in its initial partial phase as the Moon rose this night. The blue band on the horizon containing the Moon is the shadow of Earth on our atmosphere, while the dark bite taken out of the lunar disk is the shadow of Earth on the Moon. The pink band above is the Belt of Venus. This is a two-image panorama stitched to extend the scene vertically to take in more sky and ground than one frame could accommodate. Both shot with the 200mm lens and 1.4x extender, on the Canon 5DMkII.
Lunar Eclipse at Dawn from Monument Valley
The total lunar eclipse of April 4, 2015 taken from near Tear Drop Arch, in western Monument Valley, Utah. I shot this at 6:20 a.m. MDT, after mid-totality. This is a single 5-second exposure at f/2.8 and ISO 400 with the Canon 24mm lens and Canon 6D, untracked. The sky is brightening with blue from dawn twilight.
Lunar Eclipse over Monument Valley Mesa
The total lunar eclipse of April 4, 2015 at dawn over the Tear Drop Arch Mesa at Monument Valley, Utah. This is a blend of three exposures: a 44-second shot at f/3.5 and ISO 800 for the sky (with the camera on the Star Adventurer tracker to track the sky for the sharp stars) and an identical exposure with the tracker motor off (for the sharp foreground), plus a short 1-second exposure for the eclipsed Moon blended with its over exposed image. All frames with the 16-35mm lens at 26mm and with the Canon 60Da. Frames shot at ~6:07 am. MDT, about 4 minutes after totality as the sky and landscape was brightening with dawn twilight. I shot this Saturday morning, April 4, 2015 from the Tear Drop Arch B&B in the community of Monument Valley.
Lunar Eclipse Sequence from Monument Valley
The total lunar eclipse of April 4, 2015 taken from near Tear Drop Arch, in western Monument Valley, Utah. I shot the totality images at 6:01 a.m. MDT, during mid-totality during the very short 4 minutes of totality. The mid-totality image is a composite of 2 exposures: 30 seconds at f/2.8 and ISO 1600 for the sky and landscape, with the sky brightening blue from dawn twilight, and 1.5 seconds at f/5.6 and ISO 400 for the disk of the Moon itself. Also, layered in are 26 short exposures for the partial phases, most being 1/125th sec at f/8 and ISO 400, with ones closer to totality being longer, of varying durations. All are with the 24mm lens and Canon 6D on a static tripod, with the camera not moved through the entire sequence. The short duration of totality at this eclipse lent itself to a sequence with one total phase image flanked by partial phases. The rocks are illuminated by lights from the community - light pollution but photogenic in this case - and partly from dawn glow in the east.