By Fred Espenak
A lunar eclipse occurs whenever the moon passes through the Earth’s dark shadow, which can only happen during a full moon. There are two or more lunar eclipses a year.
Types of Lunar Eclipses
Penumbral Lunar Eclipse. This occurs when the moon passes through the Earth’s penumbral shadow. These eclipses are subtle and hard to observe.
Partial Lunar Eclipse. This occurs when a portion of the moon passes through the Earth’s umbral shadow. These eclipses are easy to see with the unaided eye.
Total Lunar Eclipse. This occurs when the entire moon passes through the Earth’s umbral shadow. During the total phase (totality), the moon turns a vibrant red color. These are easy to see as well, with the unaided eye.
A lunar eclipse begins as a small notch slowly appears along one edge of the moon. During the next hour, the moon gradually dips deeper into Earth’s dark umbral shadow. If the eclipse is a total one, the last remaining minutes of the partial phases can be quite dramatic. The crescent of the moon grows thinner as darkness propagates through a night sky now deprived of moonlight. If you’re away from city lights, the Milky Way becomes bright and beautiful as the total phase begins.
No matter what kind of camera you own, there are a variety of techniques that you can use to photograph a lunar eclipse: wide-angle, telephoto, multiple exposure and star trail. While you can also use film cameras to photograph eclipses, this article specifically discusses digital camera use…
© Fred Espenak
The moon was photographed every five min. during the total lunar eclipse of Jan. 20-21, 2000, Dunkirk, MD. Nikon N70 SLR and AstroPhysics…Read More
Published on May 21, 2012 by mrcorypoole
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700 pictures through a Coronado Solar Max 60 Double Stack telescope were used to make this video. The Telescope has a very narrow bandpass allowing you to see the chromosphere and not the much brighter photosphere below it. The music was composed in Abelton Live.
© Fred Espenak
Oct. 28, 2004 total lunar eclipse, widely visible from the USA. Composite of images captures the Moon at the beginning (r.), middle (c.) and end (l.) of totality. Nikon D100, 4 sec. at f/12, using an AstroPhysics 105 EDT Refractor (4″ F/6) and AP 2X Barlow for a focal length of 1200mm.
© Fred Espenak
July 16, 2000 total lunar eclipse, Maui, HI. Nikon 8008 SLR and 35mm NIKKOR lens in multiple exposure mode to capture the entire eclipse on one frame of Kodak Royal Gold 100 film. Basic exposure of 1/125 sec. at f/5.6 was increased to 1/8 sec. within 15 min. of totality, then set to 4 sec. throughout totality. A second metered exposure captures morning twilight and silhouetted palm trees.
© Fred Espenak
Star trail during the total lunar eclipse, Jan. 21, 2000. Nikon 8008 SLR, 50mm NIKKOR, f/16 opened to f/5.6 during totality, for a total exposure time of 2 hrs. and 30 min. on Kodak Royal Gold 400 film. The narrow lines that parallel the Moon’s path are images of bright stars.
© Fred Espenak
Jan. 21, 2000 total Lunar Eclipse, Dunkirk, MD. Nikon N70 SLR on an AstroPhysics 130 EDF +, f/12, Kodak Royal Gold 100 and 400 films. The moon was photographed at five min. intervals throughout the eclipse. You can see every stage of the eclipse from start to finish. Individual images scanned, composite created using Adobe Photoshop.
