[aslyfox]

to photograph a rare Super Blue Blood Moon


" January sky watchers are in for a rare treat: a Blue Moon, a total lunar eclipse and a supermoon all in the same month.

A Blue Moon is when two full moons happen in the same calendar month; lunar eclipses occur when the moon passes into Earth's shadow; and supermoons happen when the moon's perigee — its closest approach to Earth in a single orbit — coincides with a full moon. In this case, the supermoon also happens to be the day of the lunar eclipse. "

Super Blue Blood-Moon 2018: When, Where and How to See It

[Bob 256]

AND............. we just had a super moon the beginning of this month which makes TWO super moons this month. A sky observer's super lucky month.

First lunar eclipse for my K-1 - have to put it to the test!!! Thanks Aslyfox.

---------- Post added 01-14-2018 at 01:22 PM ----------

AND............. we just had a super moon the beginning of this month which makes TWO super moons this month. A sky observer's super lucky month.

First lunar eclipse for my K-1 - have to put it to the test!!! Thanks Aslyfox.

[aslyfox]

AND............. we just had a super moon the beginning of this month which makes TWO super moons this month. A sky observer's super lucky month.

First lunar eclipse for my K-1 - have to put it to the test!!! Thanks Aslyfox.

---------- Post added 01-14-2018 at 01:22 PM ----------

AND............. we just had a super moon the beginning of this month which makes TWO super moons this month. A sky observer's super lucky month.

First lunar eclipse for my K-1 - have to put it to the test!!! Thanks Aslyfox.

you are welcome but

all I can do is take credit for is the posting of the info

not the occurrence

[clickclick]

Wow, a combination of events like this is so rare, it occurs once in a blue moon!

[aslyfox]

Wow, a combination of events like this is so rare, it occurs once in a blue moon!

" don't forget to tip the wait staff on the way out folks "

[Bob 256]

Wow, a combination of events like this is so rare, it occurs once in a blue moon!

A super "bloody" blue moon that we can't blame Aslyfox for.

[PJ1]

We will be close to the centre of the eclipse path in southeast Queensland, peaking at 11:30 PM (although it won't be so convenient to capture, looking straight up). North America won't be so well placed.

[aslyfox]

We will be close to the centre of the eclipse path in southeast Queensland, peaking at 11:30 PM (although it won't be so convenient to capture, looking straight up). North America won't be so well placed.

bad news

I am not sure you will see a " blue moon ":

Not every place on Earth will see the Blue Moon this month, because the second full moon of January won't technically appear in those places until Feb. 1. These places include regions in eastern Asia and eastern Australia, where skywatchers won't see the first full moon until Jan. 2 and the next full moon until the morning of Feb. 1. For example, in Melbourne, Australia, the full moon arrives on Jan. 2 at 1:24 p.m. local time, and the next full moon is on Feb. 1 at 1:26 a.m., so skywatchers will technically miss the Blue Moon by less than 2 hours.

But their fellow Aussies in Perth, in the southwestern part of the country, will get one, since the first full moon occurs on Jan. 2 at 10:24 a.m. local time, so the moon will still look quite full when it rises at 7:35 p.m. On Jan. 31, the moon rises at 7:09 p.m. and reaches fullness at 9:26 p.m. . . .

Unlike solar eclipses, which are only visible from specific places on Earth, lunar eclipses are visible from anywhere it is nighttime. Lunar eclipses don't occur every month because the plane of the lunar orbit is slightly tilted relative to the plane of the Earth's orbit, so the Earth, sun and moon don't always line up to put the moon in Earth's shadow. For the Jan. 31 lunar eclipse, viewers in some places will not be able to see the entire event because it starts near moonrise or moonset. Lunar eclipses are only visible on Earth's night side.


https://www.space.com/39208-super-blue-blood-moon-guide.html

[PJ1]

I am not sure you will see a " blue moon ":

We just sneak in. Our moon is "full" at 11:26 PM on 31 January. For Sydney it is 12:26 AM on 1 February - but that's their own fault for having daylight savings time!

[derelict]

You do not need anything special for this, correct? I cannot find mention of filters or anything like that. I just want to double check. I will be trying it with a tripod and mid length lenses.

[mattb123]

I was already working on putting a plan together. My hope is enough pre-dawn light during the final stages of eclipse to include some landscape elements in the composition.
Hopefully that will pan out with clear enough skies and temps that aren't too brutal. It was -12F here this morning which I'd say is tolerable but I wouldn't want it much colder or it gets hard to keep the camera running.

---------- Post added 01-24-18 at 09:47 AM ----------

You do not need anything special for this, correct? I cannot find mention of filters or anything like that. I just want to double check. I will be trying it with a tripod and mid length lenses.

No but a fast lens and good high ISO performance will keep the shutter speeds fast enough to make the moon sharp. Use a remote or the 2s timer for steady shots.

[aslyfox]

You do not need anything special for this, correct? I cannot find mention of filters or anything like that. I just want to double check. I will be trying it with a tripod and mid length lenses.

Here's how things break down:
The best viewing time for the east coast is 6:45 a.m. ET. You'll need to be in a high location to see the moon, because it will be so low in the west-northwest sky.
Those in the middle of the US with a Central time zone will be able to see the start of the eclipse at 4:51 a.m. CT. From 6:15 to 6:30 a.m. CT will be the best viewing time.
People living in the Rocky Mountain region will get the best view around 6:30 a.m. MT.
The west coast will get the best view from between about 5 and 6 a.m. PT.
Asia, the Middle East, Australia, eastern Russia and New Zealand can see the eclipse during the morning moonrise on Jan. 31, according to NASA. Sorry, UK.

How to see the super blue blood moon on Jan. 31 - CNET



some suggested reading

How to photograph the super blue blood moon: tips from our photographers

https://www.lohud.com/story/news/2018/01/24/super-blue-blood-moon-pictures/1016782001/

How To Take Photos Of The Super Blue Blood Moon That Will Eclipse Everyone Else's

http://www.digital-photo-secrets.com/tip/779/how-to-take-stunning-pictures-of-the-moon/

[AstroDave]

You do not need anything special for this, correct?

That's right. The moon is not going to burn out your sensor, unlike the sun without proper precautions.

In fact, our good old "sunny 16" is a good place to start for estimating a good exposure for the un-eclipsed moon: exposure for the illuminated part of the moon/or here on earth during a sunny day is shutter speed around 1/ISO for an aperture of f/16. The moon gets the same amount of sun that we get here on earth! However, though, the moon's reflectivity is somewhat lower than average here on earth, so adding a stop or two of exposure will give you a nice exposure.

The eclipsed moon will be several stops less bright, so a good place to start would be 4 or 5 stops below a sunny day: maybe shutter speed ~1/ISO and f/4 or f/2.8. Try that, and adjust as necessary.

The sidereal rate of earth rotation is 15 arcseconds per second of time. Unless you have a long telephoto lens (more than 300mm or so), your pixel scale will be several arcseconds per pixel or more, so exposures approaching 0.1 second are unlikely to blur the moon - as long as you've got a good solid tripod!

Try autofocus, but you may want to use live view to focus.

[aslyfox]

Another article




https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2018/01/26/how

[aslyfox]

Watch the Super Blood Blue Moon Before You Go to Work on Wednesday - The New York Times

from the article:


Early Wednesday morning, if you live in the United States, the moon will bloom red, like a giant rose in the predawn sky. If you live in the western part of the United States, the eastern part of Asia or in Australia, you can watch the show unfold better than anywhere else.

The celestial event is known as a “blood moon” and it occurs as the moon slides behind Earth’s shadow during a lunar eclipse. Unlike last summer’s solar eclipse — where the moon momentarily blocked out the sun — a lunar eclipse is when Earth moves in between the sun and the moon. For half the planet, the cosmic alignment will turn the moon a coppery color for just over an hour.

Lunar eclipses are not uncommon, but the coincidence of Wednesday’s blood moon with other astronomical events is what makes this event special. First, because it is a “blue moon” — that means it is the second full moon to occur in a month. Also, it is a supermoon, meaning it will be closer to the Earth than usual, but the difference in size is hardly noticeable. Here’s what you need to know to catch this lunar trifecta some are calling the “super blue blood moon.”

When can I see the eclipse?

It takes several hours for the moon to pass through the Earth’s shadow. First, it dips through the penumbra — the outer, lighter part of the shadow — and then the umbra — which is the darker portion that creates the reddish glow, known as totality.

For people living in New York and other parts of the East Coast of the United States, the moon will begin entering the penumbra at 5:51 a.m. local time, according to Gordon Johnston, a program executive at NASA. Then it will plunge into the umbra at 6:48 a.m. But because this occurs around the time the sun is rising, you might have trouble seeing much of the eclipse before it drowns in the dawn light.

Midwesterners are a tad luckier as they will be able to see more of the event. For them, the moon enters the penumbra at 4:51 a.m. Central Time and starts to turn reddish around 6:15 a.m. Central Time. Between 6:15 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. local time will be the best chance for anyone living in the Midwest to see the spectacle before the sun rises, according to Mr. Johnston.

The show starts to get good for people in the Mountain States. The umbra kisses the moon at 4:48 Mountain time. Its red lipstick becomes most visible around 6:30 a.m. local time, until it gets washed away by the sun around 7 a.m.

Viewers on the West Coast will have the best seats in the continental United States. They will be able to watch the eclipse from start until finish, unabated by sunrise. The blood moon portion of the eclipse will enter totality at 4:51 a.m. and peak at 5:30 a.m. It will end about 6:05 a.m. local time.

Skygazers in Australia and eastern Asia will be able to watch the event on Wednesday night as the moon rises.

However, only some parts of Australia will experience the lunar triple threat, according to Tanya Hill, an astronomy curator at Museums Victoria in Australia. Writing in The Conversation, she noted that Australia’s eastern states will not experience a blue moon because those areas observe Daylight Saving Time, which pushes the full moon and the lunar eclipse to Thursday morning on Feb. 1 and thus the next month and out of blue moon territory. Still, they will have a front-row seat as the moon goes red.

Where should I go to watch the eclipse?

The best tip for anyone trying to see the eclipse is to get a clear view of the horizon and look in the west-northwest direction.

“The farther west you are, the higher in the west-northwest the moon will appear, the darker the sky will be,” said Mr. Johnston, “and the longer you will be able to view the eclipse before sunrise and moonset.”