lunar eclipse

Eclipse, not — Conjunction, hot!

James Guilford , , , , , , ,
See the eclipse? Not sure we can either. Side-by-side images made about half an hour apart, shot and processed with identical settings.

Penumbral lunar eclipses — when the Moon passes through the thin outer shadow Earth casts into space — are not spectacular. We described the July 4 – 5, 2020 eclipse as “subtle” when we wrote about it in advance. It turned out to be not-even-subtle. Essentially nobody could tell whether an eclipse had even happened, even in photographs tortured to bring out shadow details. Announcing penumbral eclipses is tricky: if nothing is said about them before they happen, we get asked why; if we promote the eclipse and even say it may be slight, people get disappointed when they hardly see the effects or don’t see anything happen at all. Still, we got to talk about the geometry of eclipses and people looked at our beautiful Moon, and that’s something.

A gorgeous high resolution portrait of Earth’s Moon at the height of the penumbral eclipse of July 4 – 5, 2020. Can’t see the eclipse shadow? Nope. That’s okay with the photographer. Credit: Alan Studt.

CAA member and accomplished photographer Alan Studt took advantage of the brilliant Moon to make its portrait. Studt explained this photo of the Moon is a composite, made up of images recorded at the peak of the eclipse. “Never saw a shadow,” he wrote, “which was fine with me.”

The Moon was shot with a telescope focal length of 4,400mm, at f/20, 1/80th sec., and ISO 250. It is made of 12 images (4 rows of 3 images)
stitched together in Lightroom and post-processed using Camera RAW in Photoshop.
Happily for skywatchers, the July Fourth holiday weekend presented a second opportunity for enjoyment: the conjunction of the “Full Buck Moon,” with planets Jupiter and Saturn. Clouds interfered, or possibly enhanced, photographic efforts. By eye, the trio was glorious with the dominant Moon, brilliant Jupiter, and shy Saturn gracing a sky full of moonglow.
Shot about an hour after moonrise, the Full Moon glowed brilliantly orange, lending color to the encroaching clouds. Jupiter is above Moon in this photo, Saturn is at the edge of a cloud on the left. A single DSLR exposure. Photo by James Guilford.

Alan Studt made his picture from two different shots/exposures: One shot for the clouds & one shot for the Moon. The clouds, Saturn, Jupiter and its moons (look closely at Jupiter) were all in one shot, 180mm, f/5. Just the Moon & clouds shot were 550mm, f6.3 Sky: 1/13th sec., ISO 5000. Moon: 1/125th sec., ISO 80. The images were post-processed in Lightroom & layer blended in Photoshop.

Conjunction photo combines separate exposures to show lunar features as well as moonlit clouds. Look closely, you may be able to make out the tiny dots of the Galilean Moons. Photo by Alan Studt.

Matt Franduto

Conjunction. by Matt Franduto.

Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: July 4 – 5

James Guilford , , , , ,
NASA Solar and Earth images, illustration by James Guilford.
A penumbral lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes through the thin outer portion of the shadow Earth casts out into space.

We’re fortunate that the night of July 4 is expected to be clear, and not just for the traditional booms and flashes of celebratory fireworks. Our Moon is getting in on the act, albeit with a much more subtle display in the form of a penumbral eclipse. The eclipse will take place from 11:07 PM to 1:52 AM EDT with maximum eclipse at 12:31 AM July 5.

We say subtle because, unlike a total lunar eclipse, Earth’s Moon will not change to reddish/coppery colors. The Moon will instead become oddly shadowed for a Full Moon, as it enters the outer fringes of Earth’s shadow in space — the penumbra. Only the “top” portion of Luna will pass through the penumbra making this eclipse especially slight. Still, it’s worth a look and it won’t be at a particularly late hour. A deeper penumbral lunar eclipse will take place the night of November 30, 2020.

Moon is eclipsed when it passes through Earth's shadow. Credit: SkySafari / J. Guilford
Earth’s shadow runs away from the Sun into space and has two parts: the deep inner shadow or umbra, and the thin outer portion called the penumbra. The Moon is eclipsed when it passes through Earth’s shadow. Credit: SkySafari / J. Guilford

While it’s possible to view this eclipse with the unaided eye, binoculars will provide an enhanced view as would a small telescope.

Penumbral Lunar Eclipse of July 4 – 5, 2020 at Maximum Eclipse: 12:31 AM EDT. Simulation via SkySafari

And just in case there’s any confusion, lunar eclipses are perfectly safe to view and photograph — it’s moonlight — so nothing to worry about there.

If you shoot any photos or have impressions to share with us, you can do so via our Twitter — @Cuyastro

Penumbral Lunar Eclipse of July 4 – 5, 2020. Credit: NASA

NASA Eclipse Page available here: Penumbral Lunar Eclipse of July 4 – 5, 2020.

 

January 20 – 21: Total Lunar Eclipse

James Guilford , , , , ,
Photo: Total Lunar Eclipse Sequence, February 2008
Total Lunar Eclipse Sequence, February 2008. – Images and Composite by Lynn Paul

Exciting News: A total lunar eclipse will take place January 20 – 21 and our area will be able to view the entire event, IF we are fortunate enough to have clear skies!

On the night of January 20, 2019 Earth’s shadow will cross the face of its Moon and viewers across North America will be treated to a total lunar eclipse. We, in Northeastern Ohio, are in luck this time as the entire eclipse will be visible to us given clear enough skies, of course.

Image: January 2019 Total Lunar Eclipse Timing - Credit: TimeAndDate.com
January 2019 Total Lunar Eclipse Timing – Credit: TimeAndDate.com

As the penumbral phase of the eclipse begins, at 9:36 PM, viewers will see the Full Moon gradually dimming, entering the lighter outer portion of Earth’s shadow. At 10:33 the partial eclipse begins and the disk of the Moon will show a dark, curved area expanding across its area. As the Moon moves deeper into shadow it will continue to darken until begin to glow a copper-red until at totality, 11:41 PM, Luna will hang colorfully in our star-sprinkled sky as totality begins — the time the Moon is fully within the darkest portion of Earth’s shadow, known as the umbra. Maximum eclipse is reached at 12:12 AM (Jan. 21) and totality ends at 12:43 AM.

As the eclipse ends, the process reverses until in the wee hours of Monday, the Full Moon will brightly shine again. Click here for more information from TimeAndDate.com.

NOTES: A telescope is not necessary for your enjoyment of this wondrous natural phenomenon, just go outside and look up! Binoculars or a small telescope may give a more detailed view but are not required. A lunar eclipse is completely safe to watch — it’s moonlight — so you need no special glasses or vision protection.

Too cloudy to see the total lunar eclipse? Try a webcast!

James Guilford , , , ,

If local conditions don’t allow viewing tonight’s total lunar eclipse or if you just can’t get out, try one of the several live webcasts. Seeing the eclipse would be much better “in person,” but watching via computer or TV is better than nothing!

NASA TV — both a webcast and a cable TV service, the space agency’s coverage begins at 8:00 EDT through 11:30 PM. See it: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasa-msfc or directly from Griffith Observatory at: http://livestream.com/GriffithObservatoryTV

Slooh, the remote telescope company, offers their own 9:00 PM webcast at: http://live.slooh.com/?utm_campaign=space&utm_medium=textlink&utm_source=launch which will also be carried by Space.com at: http://www.space.com/19195-night-sky-planets-asteroids-webcasts.html

The venerable “Sky & Telescope” magazine hosts a program beginning at 9:00 here: http://livestream.com/SkyandTelescope/Sept27eclipse

And the University of Arizona will stream their coverage live at: http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/css/eclipse/