Last night’s lunar eclipse was stunning, and caught me totally by surprise.
Not that I didn’t know the rare event was happening. It’s just that I assumed it would be covered by the clouds that threatened and stormed all day. But as I got ready to slip between the covers, I thought I’d peek outside one last time to see if I could see the moon.
See it I did! By the time the eclipse was beginning, at about 11:15 p.m., scattered clouds scooted mostly out of view, so I stepped outside in my bathrobe and slippers and peeked heavenward.
Yikes! The full, white orb was directly overhead in my Sacramento neighborhood, covered three-quarters of the way with a rather brilliant reddish-orange overlay (a Photoshop term seems best in this case).
I dashed back inside to grab a camera, fit my longest lens, scrounge for a CF card, and ran back outside. My first few guesses at the exposure were off.
Evidently, the Sunny 16 rule works for a regular full moon, but not an eclipse. Hand-holding and bracing on the mailbox were not going to give me the stability I needed, either.
Back into the house I ran for a tripod. In the meantime, unfortunately, the eclipse progressed to fully cover the moon. But I did manage to get some steady shots of a fully darkened moon.
Upon later inspection, the rusty-brown surface looked quite like a basketball, minus the seams. It was an awesome sight.
I wondered what made the moon appear reddish-brown during the eclipse. According to one explanation by EarthSky, an organization that makes such scientific mysteries accessible to laypersons like me, the color of the moon is from light refracting off dust and clouds in Earth’s atmosphere. Were there no atmosphere, the moon would be totally black as you might expect.
I know a lot has been made of the fact that this total eclipse occurred on the date of the winter solstice, which evidently hasn’t happened since 1638.
Although I don’t believe the coincidence has any particular significance, it is easy to see how early civilizations might have freaked out when they saw the great night luminary turn red, like blood.
For those who missed this complete lunar eclipse, you can catch the show again in 2132. So you should have plenty of time to get your camera settings ready!
