TimeOut

Blood Moon!

 

We just had a full moon, here's the shot over the Hollywood Hills, California:




A closer and detailed look at the moon in all it's glory!  Lucky for us in Los Angeles we have been getting some great weather. 



So why did we stay up so late?  We've seen shots of a full moon many times on the forum but tonight was very special, it was this year's first total lunar eclipse aka Blood Moon!  The last one was three years ago with the next one in October.  In 2015, there will be also two eclipses, again in April then September.  That's four eclipses ( lunar tetrad) in a row!  If you miss these dates to view it you're going to have to wait until 2032.

So what is a Blood Moon?  The Earth's shadow blocks the sun's light from the moon.  In a total lunar eclipse, the moon turns into a copper/rust/red color  as it passes into Earth's shadow (also known as the Umbra). 

Things begin around 11pm Pacific Standard Time, you can see the moon begin to get dark at the 8 o'clock area:




A few minutes later it gets even more noticeable.  Fortunately a lunar eclipse is safe to view with the naked eye, unlike a solar eclipse which can damage your eyesight!



This is called the Partial Eclipse phase:









As time passes by, more of the moon gets covered in darkness. 



As the moon moves closer to a total eclipse, the copper/rust/red color starts to appear!  Another interesting thing to note is the bright dot that is to the right of the moon...do you know what that is?  It's the planet Mars!  I changed the settings on my Nikon so that the planet would come out in the shot.  Too bad I didn't have a longer zoom lens, it would have been cool to capture it in more detail.




The Total Eclipse taken with different settings, you can visualize the eclipse easier:




Some cloud rolls in, giving it a mysterious look:



In this shot, Mars is visible again:



Around 1pm PST, the Blood Moon is at it's most colorful.  There is a bit of cloud cover so  the photos don't come out as clear as I'd like.  Mars still shines brightly...



Another shot from a different angle:



I was surprised to see how red it got!  This part is called the Mid Eclipse phase of the Blood Moon




While the event was lasted around 4 hours, the Total Eclipse took over an hour to complete. The reddish tint disappeared and the moon slowly returned to it's normal bright white color.  The cloud cover went away and it was easier to get a good shot of the

On the news, they reported that some doomsday cults believe the multiple Blood Moons that will occur this coming year signifies the end of the world.  Besides the beautiful sighting of the total eclipse, I am glad that nothing has happened.   

Did anyone else catch a glimpse of the Blood Moon or take some snapshots?

-MW



This message has been edited by DRMW on 2014-04-15 12:58:07

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