Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/01/19
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]
I don't think that an eclipse of the moon can be effectively photographed.
I saw one in London a few years ago on an unusually clear night.
The atmosphere was fantastic, eerie, threatening. An irrational feeling of
relief when the Moon reappeared.
We were on the roof of this building, a neighbour had a powerful telescope
on a tripod.
The moon looked startling, I can see it now. But it was the strange subtlety
of colour and texture, and the way that it changed with the sublime motion
of the moon that made it special, rather than the actual sight of it.
Like many sunsets, maybe best to be there with no attempt to record it, it's
better that way. (Or am I just betraying a lack of respect for colour
photography, a poor mix of pigments, as opposed to a rich palette of
monochromatic texture and tone?).
I don't think we'll see much in Europe - I hope the Americas enjoy a clear
night.
Here's a press release about it, sorry if this is old info:
>THE FOLLOWING RELEASE WAS RECEIVED FROM ASTRONOMY MAGAZINE, IN WAUKESHA,
>WISCONSIN, AND IS FORWARDED FOR YOUR INFORMATION. (FORWARDING DOES NOT
>IMPLY ENDORSEMENT BY THE AMERICAN ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY.) Steve Maran,
>American Astronomical Society
>
>
>A Midwinter's Eclipse of the Moon
>
>On Thursday night, January 20, people throughout North America will have
>front-row seats to their first total eclipse of the moon in more than three
>years. For 78 minutes, the moon will lie completely immersed in the darkest
>part of Earth's shadow and the only light hitting the moon will be the
>reddish glow from all of our planet's sunrises and sunsets.
>
>Few sky events can rival the majesty of a total lunar eclipse. Watching the
>brilliant white full moon gradually transform into a reddish globe -
>hanging in the winter sky like a Christmas ornament someone forgot to take
>down - is a sight you won't soon forget. The solar system will create one
>of those memories Thursday night when Earth passes directly between the sun
>and moon.
>
>The action starts when the moon first touches the darkest part of Earth's
>shadow, called the umbra, at 10:01 p.m. EST. (Our planet's lighter outer
>shadow, known as the penumbra, imparts only a very subtle shading to the
>moon's surface that few observers will notice.) For the next hour, the moon
>edges deeper and deeper into the shadow during the partial phases of the
>eclipse. [Editor's note: See the table below for the times in your time
>zone.]
>
>Initially the shadow will appear black in contrast to the rest of the moon,
>which remains bathed in bright sunshine. As the partial phases progress,
>however, and more of the lunar surface slips into the shadow, the moon
>starts to take on a dull orange to reddish hue. The color brightens
>significantly by the onset of totality, which arrives at 11:05 p.m. EST.
>
>At first the color may seem surprising - after all, how can light get into
>our planet's shadow? If Earth were an airless planet, the shadow would be
>pitch black and the eclipsed moon would vanish. But our atmosphere acts
>like a filtered lens, bending red sunlight into the shadow and scattering
>out blue light. It's the same reason why sunrises and sunsets appear
>reddish.
>
>If you were an astronaut standing on the moon during totality, you would
>see Earth eclipsing the sun. Earth would appear as a dark disk surrounded
>by a brilliant ring of red - our atmosphere glowing with the light of all
>the planet's sunsets and sunrises. It's this light we see bathing the moon
>during totality.
>
>No one can predict the exact color of the moon during an eclipse, which
>depends on conditions in Earth's stratosphere. A major volcanic eruption
>can choke the stratosphere with aerosols, darkening the moon significantly.
>(The moon nearly disappeared from view during the first few total eclipses
>following the 1991 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines.) With no
>recent violent eruptions, the best guess has the moon appearing a bright
>brick-red color as the total phase of the eclipse progresses.
>
>Totality will last 78 minutes, until 12:22 a.m. EST, during which time the
>brilliant stars of winter will seem to shine even more brightly than usual.
>In the following hour, the moon gradually slides back into full sunlight,
>playing out the earlier partial phases in reverse. The moon finally leaves
>the umbral shadow at 1:25 a.m. EST, concluding the three-plus-hour show.
>
>North America won't be the only continent to see the total eclipse. Viewers
>throughout South America will see a similar display to that of their
>cousins to the north. In Hawaii, the total phase begins just as the moon
>rises (and the sun sets), so totality and the concluding partial phases can
>be seen. And totality will reign in western Europe and western Africa as
>well, but in the predawn hours of the 21st.
>
>This event begins a stellar year for eclipses in North America. On the
>morning of July 16, observers along the West Coast will see the early
>partial phases of the second total lunar eclipse of 2000. Then two weeks
>later, on July 30, those in northwestern North America will witness a nice
>partial solar eclipse just before sunset. Finally, December 25 brings with
>it another partial solar eclipse, where the entire continent will see up to
>72 percent of the sun blocked from view.
>
>
>Timing of events during the eclipse of January 20/21
>
>Event EST CST MST PST
>
>Moon enters umbra 10:01 p.m. 9:01 p.m. 8:01 p.m. 7:01 p.m.
>Totality begins 11:05 p.m. 10:05 p.m. 9:05 p.m. 8:05 p.m.
>Middle of eclipse 11:44 p.m. 10:44 p.m. 9:44 p.m. 8:44 p.m.
>Totality ends 12:22 a.m. 11:22 p.m. 10:22 p.m. 9:22 p.m.
>Moon leaves umbra 1:25 a.m. 12:25 a.m. 11:25 p.m. 10:25 p.m.
>
>
>NOTE TO EDITORS: A high-resolution photograph of an eclipsed moon and
>diagrams showing the moon's passage through Earth's shadow and its location
>in the night sky can be downloaded from Astronomy's website at
>
>www.astronomy.com/press_room/000120/000120.html
>
>
>Caption for photo: Multiple colors paint the moon's surface during a lunar
>eclipse. This view of the March 1997 partial eclipse shows bright white
>sunlight blending into the yellow, orange, and red colors that fill Earth's
>shadow. Credit: Photograph by Gregory Terrance.
>
>Caption for diagram of the moon in the sky: The reddish moon hangs among
>the stars of winter during totality, below the bright stars Castor and
>Pollux in Gemini and left of the even brighter star Procyon. Credit:
>Astronomy magazine.
>
>Caption for diagram of the moon in Earth's shadow: The moon slides through
>Earth's shadow on the night of January 20. Credit: Astronomy magazine.
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
____________________________________________
alex@zetetic.co.uk
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~abrattell/
___________________________________________