![]() ![]() Those in the east can take advantage of interesting photo opportunities by capturing the partially eclipsed Moon setting in the west in the dawn twilight. Most of North America (my tips are aimed at North American photographers) can see at least some part of this eclipse.įrom the eastern half of the continent the Moon sets at sunrise during either totality (from the central areas of North America), or during the first partial phases (from eastern North America). Where is the Eclipse? Courtesy Fred Espenak and Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (Observer’s Handbook)Īs the chart above shows, the Pacific area including Hawaii, Australia, and eastern Asia can see the entire eclipse with the Moon high in the evening or midnight sky. However, in North America, only sites in the western half of the continent get to see all or most of totality. Once the Moon is completely immersed in the umbra, totality begins, and lasts 77 minutes at this eclipse, a generous length. While it looks like the shadow is moving across the Moon, it is really the Moon moving into, then out of, the umbral shadow that causes the eclipse.Īt this eclipse the partial phases last about an hour before and after totality. The shadow appears to creep across the Moon to darken more of its disk. That’s when the partial eclipse begins, and we see a dark bite appear on the left edge of the Moon. It’s only when the Moon begins to enter the central umbral shadow that we see an obvious effect. Taken 7 to 5 minutes before totality began. I shot this at the Octototal lunar eclipse, from Writing-on-Stone Park in southern Alberta. An HDR stack of images to encompass the range of brightness from the bright portion of the lunar disk (at right here) still just in the penumbral shadow, to the dark portion of the disk at left deep in the umbral shadow. I don’t even list the times below for the start and end of the penumbral phases. ![]() When the Moon is within only the outer penumbral shadow we see very little effect, with a barely perceptible darkening of the Moon, if that. The Moon does so at least two times a year, though often not as a total eclipse, one where the entire disk of the Moon is engulfed by the umbra. Here’s my summary of tips and techniques for capturing the eclipsed Moon.Īs the animation (courtesy NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) shows, an eclipse of the Moon occurs when the Full Moon (and they can happen only when the Moon is exactly full) travels through the shadow of the Earth. The pre-dawn event provides many photo opportunities. On the morning of January 31, before sunrise for North America, the Full Moon passes through the umbral shadow of the Earth, creating the first total eclipse of the Moon since September 27, 2015. The first total lunar eclipse in 2.5 years provides lots of opportunities for some great photos. ![]()
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