Total Lunar eclipse of 3-4 March 2007 |
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I vividly recall observing the total lunar eclipse of 9 February 1990 as a teenager and I still remember how it impressed me. I had to wait for another 17 years for another favourable eclipse to occur. Based on my experiences with solar eclipse photography I used a technique to reduce the large dynamic range of the partially eclipsed Moon. The partial phase is still illuminated by full sunlight and will outshine the eclipsed part, so that the striking colours are muted when photographed. Only when images are taken at a range of different exposures can a composite be made in photoshop. These composite images are build up out of short exposures to bring out the highlights and long exposures to reveal the darker side in the shadow. All images shown here are composites, except the image taken at totality. |
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| A sequence of Lunar composites shows the shadow creeping over the Lunar surface. The shadow looks a dark grey when it first approaches, as the eclipse progresses, it takes on a coppery hue. The colour is a result of the refraction of the earths atmosphere, the red glow is caused by the same principle that makes the sun go red when it sets. | ||
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| Approaching totality, the entire Moon is getting dimmer and dimmer. Stars that would otherwise go unnoticed, appear, such as 56 Leo (mag 5.98) on the right. | ||
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| Totality. Although the Moon was totally eclipsed, it didn't move trough the center of the earths shadow completely, and therefore the lower right side is darker than the upper left side. | ||
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| After totality, the phases reverse. The Moon was setting now, and making good photographs was getting harder. Also it was getting quite cold. So after this one I called it a night..... |