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So Easy Even a Writer with a 5 Megapixel Camera Could Do It
Okay, so it's freezing cold here, but the sky has been remarkably clear tonight. So we went out to look at the eclipse. It's beautiful, and as I write this, the Moon is moving out of totality. It's still a pretty brick-red color and as it moves out of the shadow, that color will fade over the next hour. Now, I'm sure that there are lots of really decent astrophotographers out there who will be posting their stunning images of the event.
I am not one of those astrophotographers, but I was still bitten by the camera bug and decided to see what my little HP Photosmart could do. So, I attached it to a little $9.00 hiker's tripod I bought on ThinkGeek.com a while back, and set the camera for no flash, biggest zoom, and high resolution. This is the result.
Not stunning, but hey, it does show that if I can come up with an image of the Moon that isn't TOO blurry (given the long exposure, etc.), then anybody with a little camera and a little tripod can do it, too. Just the same, be sure and do some searching on the Web over the next few days for "lunar eclipse photos" to see what the folks with the big cameras can do!
In case you haven't been near a computer or newspaper for a while, there's a total lunar eclipse occurring tonight in the Western Hemisphere (early morning for Europe and Africa). This "moon darkening" event occurs because the Moon temporarily moves through Earth's shadow. The Moon won't go completely dark, but turn smoky grey to reddish in color; it's still lit up by indirect sunlight, which is why we can see it.
This is one of those celestial events that you can watch from your house (or backyard), but if you're craving a social experience, call your local planetarium and/or public observatory and see if they're planning an eclipse-watching party. There's more information about the eclipse at Sky and Telescope's page. You can also check out Astronomy Magazine's page and for the ultimate in eclipse-o-phile info, go visit MrEclipse.com.
Now, chances are that some parts of North America (at least) will have cloudy conditions for all or part of the eclipse. But, check it out anyway. Your local weather may clear just in time!
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