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Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Blood Moon Lunar Eclipse





It was a Blood Moon this evening, quite fascinating to watch and I was very grateful for a clear sky. A Blood Moon is a spectacular type of full lunar eclipse. A lunar eclipse can only occur at full moon and a total lunar eclipse happens when the sun, Earth and moon are perfectly lined up, the Earth shadowing the moon.

Just as a sunset appears red due to the refraction of sunlight through the Earth's atmosphere, so a lunar eclipse can also appears red, hence the term a Blood Moon. The greater the amount of dust in the atmosphere, the darker the red.


6pm

At first, it was nearly impossible to even see the moon for it rose already fully eclipse. However as the sky darkened it became clearer and more spectacular.


6:12pm                                         6:38pm                                              6:44pm

As the eclipse gradually cleared I changed my settings to focus on the "light" rather than the "shadow" of the eclipse. The timing of the photos above overlap with those below.


6:44                                              6:45                                          7:05


7:15                                            7:20                                           7:30


7:40                                        7:50                                           8:00


It was the first time I had watched a Blood Moon and hopefully not the last.


Photographic note: All photos taken with my Canon 600D and S55-250 kit lens on Manual mode. For the top two photos and first collage focused on the "shadow" I used ISOs between 800-3200, shutter speed 1/2-1/4 second, f.10.
For all the other photos focused on the moon's "light" my settings were ISO 100, shutter 1/100, f.10. As I don't have a tripod, all photos were taken hand held, most while leaning the lens against a pole/pillar.

* In June 2012 I captured a partial lunar eclipse - you can see it here.

*** More information regarding lunar eclipses and the term Blood Moon can be found here.


Sharing at SkyWatch Friday.

36 comments:

  1. Great series of shots - yay for you!
    We were eating/chatting/bathing and forgot
    I hope we get to see one one day
    x

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  2. -clapping hands- Wonderful!!!!!

    Oh you had everything "purrrfect," didn't you? Nice evening time. (ours was 3am) Clear weather. (we had cloud cover) And most of all, you know how to "work a camera"!!!!!

    Just spectacular photos!

    And it must have been amazing to witness. Another one later in the year. Perhaps I'll luck-out with the weather conditions, this coming time. :-)

    Tessa~
    (Upper NYS of the US)

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  3. these are amazing photos Karen - thanks for sharing with us. Such a spectacular event.

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  4. Wonderful photos Karen! I am a bit bleary this morning, having stayed up to see it beginning at 12:04 am and finally going to bed at 1:30 am. Do you mind if I share this link on FB?

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  5. What spectacular photos! You did a beautiful job capturing this eclipse. Thanks for sharing.

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  6. Superb captures, Karen!! A spectacular event it was indeed!! Thank you for sharing with us!! Hope your week is going well!!

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  7. flott serie, det første er spesiell og kjempe bra !

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  8. A very beautiful series of shots!

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  9. Well done!! We have "family dinner" with my children on Tuesday nights so I wasn't able to capture much.
    I am planning to do an entire series on October 8.

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  10. I heard on the news this morning that there was a blood moon but they only mentioned the Americas. Delighted that you were able to capture it and share it on your blog.

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  11. So special to see the pictures, how would it be to actually see...
    Greetings from Marijke

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  12. These pictures are really amazing. Very interesting too, I am sure we have never seen here a Blood Moon.

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  13. So amazing:) i havent seen it because here was just rain

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  14. thanks for posting your photos!! We couldn't see it here -- since we were getting what I hope is the last snow of the season, it had to be cloudy?!?

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  15. Lovely photos, Karen. Alas no blood moon lunar eclipse down here, the sky was blanketed with clouds; but with your magic shots, I feel as if I have witnessed it.

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  16. You took some great shots! It was really beautiful wasn't it!

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  17. Wonderful! I got up in the middle of night to look but inMaryland it was raining and very overcast. Thanks for sharing.

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  18. Wundervoll deine Mondfotos, faszinierende Bilder.

    GLG Mathilda ♥

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  19. I was watching from California!!! Nice captures!

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  20. I too was watching this spectacular event. So love the first photo with those red tones. And enjoyed how you timed the stages of the moon's journey.

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  21. Gorgeous captures of the Lunar Eclipse! We missed it here, our skies were cloudy! Have a happy day!

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  22. Stunning photos and you are lucky to see it.

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  23. Magnificent shots of the Blood Moon and eclipse for SWF ~ xoxo

    artmusedog and carol (A Creative Harbor)

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  24. It was indeed an amazing view of the moon. Great series of shots!

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  25. Amazing captures of the moon.
    Thank you.
    JM Illinois

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  26. Great shots of your blood moon.

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  27. Wow, excellent work! I really enjoyed seeing how the moon changed as the night progressed.

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  28. Wow - so gorgeous!

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  29. No window for a look here. We had 6 inches of rain, rain, rain.

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  30. Great pictures of the Moon - mine are a bit clouded!

    Stewart M - Melbourne

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