There has not been a total lunar eclipse on the winter solstice since 1638, but it will be visible in N. America Monday-Tuesday between 9:20 p.m. and 1 a.m., assuming, of course, that we can see the moon. If you can find a place to catch it, it should be wild. Solstice and Full Moon and Lunar Eclipse....wow. Some crazy stuff should go down that night.
Posted by David Bostock on December 19, 2010 at 7:32 PM
Will definitely try to catch this. Thanks for the note, Marylynne. As you said, let's hope for clear skies.
I just read another site that said 93 A.D. was the last time this happened....not sure which one to believe, but NASA was the latter. I think it has to do with with whether the writer assumed the solstice is always 21st or knew it can vary. I'm in Prineville, but even here it's looking very snowy and cloudy.
Posted by Kathryn Engle on December 20, 2010 at 12:27 AM
Here is a link on various methods of photographing it. We're expecting clouds and snow, but I have my fingers crossed there may be some time where we can observe it.
Thanks, Kathryn. I'm gonna give it a shot even though I suck at night photography and at staying up past 10 p.m. I figure a mid-day nap, after dinner coffee, warm hat and gloves, and lots of camera manual reading and planning should give me a shot. Last night the clouds cleared in the evening, so I'm hopeful.
BTW, because the full eclipse happens between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m., various sites are confusing matters by talking about the "night of the 21st." It's really the night of the 20th and the wee hours of the 21st.
Well, I gave it a shot. I didn't expect it to be so high, so there it is, just floating in the sky. I took better shots of the moonset during sunrise the next morning. I'll post those later after some cropping and processing.
Posted by David Bostock on December 22, 2010 at 8:57 PM
Actually, Marylynne, I really like this. The lighting is sensational. Awesome shot.
Thanks, David. My main regret is that I should have increased the ISO by this point, hence the slight motion blur. I had the camera on a tripod, focused manually using Live View x10, and tripped the shutter with a remote release. Mirror lockup would have been a good move too, but until this point in the process, the shutter speeds were not that slow.
I'd love to say I hiked to some remote location and camped out overnight to take this ala Galen Rowell. And, indeed, it was FREEZING out in Prineville where I took this, but most of time I was lying on the kitchen floor looking through the sliders and tripping the remote . I went to my warm bed when the umbral shadow returned on the other side.
I used the Canon 100-400mm L, so even at 100mm I had to reposition the camera on the tripod about every 10 minutes because the moon left the frame, This was one of the latter exposures at about 400mm and 2 seconds at f/5.6.
Posted by Bruce King on December 27, 2010 at 12:15 AM
Very cool moonshot Marylynne. I wish I had caught this earlier but snooze and lose I guess.
BTW, I could be wrong but when in liveview I think the mirror is up.
Discussion
9 replieshttp://www.mreclipse.com/LEphoto/LEphoto.html
BTW, because the full eclipse happens between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m., various sites are confusing matters by talking about the "night of the 21st." It's really the night of the 20th and the wee hours of the 21st.
I'd love to say I hiked to some remote location and camped out overnight to take this ala Galen Rowell. And, indeed, it was FREEZING out in Prineville where I took this, but most of time I was lying on the kitchen floor looking through the sliders and tripping the remote
I used the Canon 100-400mm L, so even at 100mm I had to reposition the camera on the tripod about every 10 minutes because the moon left the frame, This was one of the latter exposures at about 400mm and 2 seconds at f/5.6.
BTW, I could be wrong but when in liveview I think the mirror is up.