There I was in my bog boots, bathrobe and heavy down coat. The temperature was well below freezing at 4 am today. The dogs decided I was nuts and they went inside and back to bed. I stayed out til almost 5:30 when the mostly eclipsed moon dropped below the ridge above us. Like they said it would, it had turned very red and lovely. We are lucky to have dark night skies here in the Methow Valley so we can enjoy our celestial world.
Not many sights prettier than the full moon rising.
Sadly on the night of the 14th, clouds obscured the lunar eclipse at my house. I had hoped to watch and make some nice images. Oh well.
Last night I was out with the dogs and noticed that clouds were once again obscuring the moon but the moonlight was shining behind them, highlighting the edges and the sky that was not cloud-covered. Stars and planets adorned the dark sky too. The tripod was still handy from the night before so I went out in the cold to see what I could get.
These images represent the changing light as the clouds, the moon and the earth moved.
I am lucky to live in a place where light pollution has not yet overcome our night skies and seeing the stars and planets is a normal occurrence.
These images are from January 15. I think they speak for themselves.
Brrrr. You’d think a person would have more sense than to stand around in the dark when the temperature is ten degrees, fahrenheit. Especially a person battling a head cold. But how often do you get to see a lunar eclipse?
It was foggy when I went to bed last night so I didn’t have much hope of being able to see this phenomonon and I didn’t do anything to get ready for it. Ken set the alarm and even woke me up after he saw the progressing shadow of the earth across the moon. He had the scope set up outside to watch it. It was a struggle to find everything I needed for night time photography and I overlooked one thing that would have made my images better. My other camera. It handles high ISO much better and would have allowed shorter exposures that would have been sharper. Can I help it if my mind is all fogged up at 5 in the morning? It was fun to see, despite the cold.
This is what happens when you move everything during the shot.
The moon set and the sky was light in the east before the eclipse came to an end.
My Everyday Photos 