There is a total lunar eclipse this evening from about 800 to 830 pm EST. The moon is already about half covered. Souther Lower Michigan is clear enought to see it!37 responses total.
Wow! Read this item just in the nick of time. Eclipse clearly visible here. Thanks, Bill.
Doesn't look like it'll be total, though. One edge stayed uncovered, and it looks like the moon is coming out of the eclipse now.
I missed totality, saw near totality and a few other points from Maryland.
I had forgotten about this until I was driving earlier this evening and saw the moon looking odd. I knew there was a full moon recently, so seeing it darkened on the left side was wrong; the moon wanes from the right. Plus, the shape of the shadow was wrong.
I'd forgotten about it until the football game I was watching showed it. I sat outside for about 45 minutes, watching the shadow cover most of the Moon. It got pretty cold but I enjoyed it. I then got out my telescope, but I'm not very good at using it, and didn't see much through it.
It is a total eclipse geometrically, but not total in terms of illumination, as refraction of light by the earth's atmosphere still illuminates the moon.
I dunno; there was a sliver along the eastern edge (the bottom, looking east) that was still reflecting the Sun's light, not the Earth's.
I should have written that it *cold* be a total eclipse geometrically but not for illumination. I think the earth is big enough that the umbra of the earth can totally cover the moon. I'm not sure, however, how much light would still reach the moon by *diffraction* around the earth even if the earth had no atmosphere.
Any copper/red moon viewings??
Yes, a total eclipse is possible; I've seen them before. Just not tonight.
Re #9: The moon looked distinctly red when I viewed it during the eclipse.
How often do lunar eclipses happen?
Also, do lunar eclipses always occur during a full moon?
I, too, saw the Moon as red during the eclipse. Yes, lunar ecplises can only occur when the Moon is full. Just as solar eclipses can only occur when the Moon is new.
I saw an observation that the color of the moon during a total lunar eclipse depends on the amount of dust and clouds in the earth's atmosphere, so it is the refraction in the earth's atmosphere that is responsible for the moon's illumination.
they happen about twice a year.
I saw it as it was almost finished as I was leaving the movies. It was cool.
I missed it, and I saw its beginnings. Darn.
I didn't know about this, but when I was in the car and the moon started with a small chunk out of the upper left corner I got very suspicious. Checking space.com confirmed the event much to my absolute joy. It was great.
Saw it just beginning as I went in for the John McCutcheon concert in Royal Oak, and caught near totality for a moment during the intermission, which McCutcheon claimed to have timed specifically so we could catch it. I cynically suspect he was merely taking good- natured advantage of fortuitous timing.
We managed to watch it, and took out the binoculars/telescope to do so better. The neighbor kids all came out and watched with us. It was very fun.
For those curious what the eclipse looked like, I took some pictures as the eclipse progressed over Grand Traverse Bay, MI and created a collage. The coppery tinge of the eclipsed moon is clearly visible. You can see the collage at: http://www.dfred.net/public/misc/lunar-eclipse-20031108/ There are 800x600 and 1600x1200 versions. You are welcome to use the images for your own personal computer background if you like, but any other use, display, distribution, etc. is prohibited. Thanks and enjoy...
Is it possible to purchase a print from you? That is breath taking. Augusta, GA was severely overcast, and we didn't even get to see a twinkle of a star that night.
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Awesome photos, djf! Thanks for sharing!
Wow, those photos are great!
djf - can you tell us about how you took those pictures? I have a digital camera, and would love to learn to take stuff like that, but I have no training in photography.
Wow. Nice photographs, David. What kind of camera, lense and settings did you use?
Very nice.. Great editing job.
Sweet.
Thanks very much for the positive feedback. I had been disappointed by the overcast conditions here during the geomagnetic storms of the last few weeks. But the sky cleared after an afternoon of rain only minutes before the eclipse started and I had my tripod ready... The base images were taken with an Olympus CM-2100. This is a 2.1-megapixel digital camera with a non-exchangable 10x optical zoom lens. While the raw resolution is not that high, the powerful optical zoom and LCD viewfinder make it possible to flexibly and accurately frame images, avoiding excessive cropping after the fact. This camera was discontinued a year or two ago, but Olympus has continued the line with increasingly compact designs, higher resolutions, and lower prices -- a similar current model being the C-750. The background photo of branches silhouetted on moonlit water was taken at F2.8, 0.5 seconds, ISO400 and around 5x optical zoom. This is a 35mm film focal length equivalent of around 250-300mm, I think. The moon "close-ups" were taken at F8, 0.5-6.0 seconds, ISO100, 10x optical+2.7x digital zoom (~1200-1350mm). The exposure times were varied to account for changing light and sky conditions. The raw images were edited and combined using the GNU Image Manipulation Program (www.gimp.org) under Linux. I did not intend to use this venue in a commercial way, however if people are interested in prints I can investigate the matter. Please contact me via email.
kewl shots .. i also use the 2100 .. amazing camera for digital stuff
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Ditto all the kudos. If you are so inclined, "enter it in a contest", or consider investigating publishing in a magazine.
I enjoyed the pictures as well. So did my 7 year old. Very nice job!
I like pictures of whores.
unfortunately, I was stuck in a theatre in Pittsburgh that night. I was stuck in a certain theatre in Pittsburgh a lot of nights in November. . .
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