Super Blood Moon
It has been all over the news for the past day or so, but for those that missed it this morning was a rare opportunity to see a Super Blood Moon. Whilst lunar eclipses are fairly common, the last total eclipse observed in the UK was in 2008 and the next will be in 2019. However, what made this one particularly impressive was the fact it coincided with a Super Moon - the moon being at its minimum distance (perigee) to Earth, which means it appears 14% bigger and brighter.
The name Blood Moon comes from the rust coloured appearance of the moon during totality, due to the small amount of light hitting the moons surface being filtered by the extremities of the earths atmosphere, removing the blue wavelengths and leaving a red coloured shadow on the moons surface.
Although totality was at 03:11 BST in the UK, the event started at 02:00, so it was an early start to make sure the telescope and camera were set up in time. I used the QHY8L CCD camera, attached to my Altair Wave 115ED refractor to ensure I had a good shot of the entire Moon's surface. I started with exposures of just 0.001 seconds, but after totality I had to increase this to 25 seconds to capture the full detail of the surface. I took 76 images to begin with, at 30 second intervals, which I processed using Time Lapse Assembler to create a short time lapse as the eclipse approached totality. I then switched to single shots to get some detailed still images.
It might have been an early start, but it was an incredible sight and well worth the lack of sleep. If you missed it, don't worry - there will be another opportunity in 2033!
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| My image of the Super Blood Moon |
Although totality was at 03:11 BST in the UK, the event started at 02:00, so it was an early start to make sure the telescope and camera were set up in time. I used the QHY8L CCD camera, attached to my Altair Wave 115ED refractor to ensure I had a good shot of the entire Moon's surface. I started with exposures of just 0.001 seconds, but after totality I had to increase this to 25 seconds to capture the full detail of the surface. I took 76 images to begin with, at 30 second intervals, which I processed using Time Lapse Assembler to create a short time lapse as the eclipse approached totality. I then switched to single shots to get some detailed still images.
It might have been an early start, but it was an incredible sight and well worth the lack of sleep. If you missed it, don't worry - there will be another opportunity in 2033!
