Blood Moon: A game of two halves

[Relpet]

Lunar Eclipse: September 2015

First half:

The moon came up into a sky streaked with cloud and at about 10 p.m. I trolleyed the 8" Dobsonian into the yard to set up the best combination of eyepiece and extension tube to get the whole moon into the frame of the Nikon D5100 (borrowed from a cousin) once the action started.  Elsewhere I have referred to a 32mm 1,25" EP from GSO which screws straight into the T-mount of a camera.  I bought it s/h for £25 via Astroboot.  Even with the viewfinder setting at the lowest level the moon was so bright I found it difficult to get a crisp focus so took a series of test shots to see how close I was getting to perfection.  I set the shutter speed at 1/500th and the ISO at 200 for the best result. 

I found it strange that the light was so white when a TV shot from Cornwall earlier showed the moon to be quite orange.  As the colour is imparted by particles in the atmosphere I guessed the air must be clearer here in south-west France than in northern Europe but nevertheless felt slightly cheated.

Once I felt the set-up was as good as it could be got by a complete novice I left it at that but was dismayed when the sky suddenly turned dark.  A huge bank of cloud had been forming and now covered half the sky.

Relying on the forecast that the sky would be clear from about 1 a.m. I covered the working end of the telescope with a cloth.  The dewpoint was forecast to be 12° and the temperature would fall well below that so it was necessary to keep dew off the camera.  Then I went back indoors to kill a couple of hours.

At 2 a.m. the church bells chimed the hour.  Time for me to go back outside.  The forecast had been spot on.  Hardly a trace of cloud to be seen.  Oddly, though, one edge of the moon was turning fuzzy.  Looking through the camera viewfinder I could see that the fuzzyness was being caused by a shadowy arc.  I took some pictures and went to remind my wife  that she had asked to be called when the action started.  A few minutes later, relaxed under blankets in a lounger, binoculars in hand, she lay back to watch the show while I fixed my eye to the camera.

As the eclipse advanced the curvature of the shadow became more and more evident but the part of the moon outside the shadow remained obstinately white.  After taking about 80 pictures I remembered reading in the handbook that there is a filter setting in the camera that will impart a "Warm Glow".  Disregarding the advice I had been given as a child that cheats never prosper (advice that subsequently turned out to be often untrue in the world of politics, sport, commerce, warfare and every other field of human endeavour) I thought to give the filter a go.

At three in the morning, in the dark, with cold hands and an unfamiliar camera, there are better times to try something different.  While fiddling a message came up asking if I wanted to format the memory card.  Answer Yes or No.  Numb fingers searching for the No button inevitably found the Yes button and the entire evening's work thus far was lost.

Second half:

Having admonished myself with rather more decorum than I expected I restarted the shooting programme.  By this time the ISO and shutter speed settings needed to be changed with increasing frequency as the reflected light from the moon's disc reduced.

Now, suddenly, fringes of colour are starting to emerge; various shades of orange from pale to almost crimson.  It is now strikingly evident that a beautiful celestial event is under way.  The silver ball that had hung in the sky not so long before is now a glowing round ember with a sliver of white like an icecap from the last reflected sunlight.

The moonlight previously flooding the sky has now been replaced by starlight.  The last little clouds have gone.  The Milky Way spreads from horizon to horizon and the constellation of Orion has emerged so clearly that the smudge of its nebula can be seen with the naked eye and Betelgeuse glows red in perfect seeing conditions.

After a while the moon can be seen to be glowing a little brighter.  The show will soon be over and it's time to wrap things up over a cup of cocoa before going to bed.  In spite of the loss in the first half I have 150 jpeg and the same number of RAW images to go through to pick out anything that might be worth post-production improvement and so worth sharing.  .

For the technically minded the final image was taken at ISO5000 with a shutter speed of 1/10th.  The remote control did not work so all pictures were taken by finger pressure.

After a few days working on the best of the stills I centralised the images as best I could using IrfanView (free software) then made a short video using Serif MoviePlus X6 (cheap software) which I posted to YouTube for friends and family.  The musical soundtrack may not be to everyone's taste but this is the link.

I was rather shy about submitting this report (and especially the link) hence the delay.  But then I thought "Hey.  I'm 76.  The BBC tell us we won't get a show like this again until 2023.  Where on Earth (or elsewhere) will I be then?  This is a memento for me to share with friends and family.  It ain't Hubble quality but it's a record of my experience and nobody else in my circle stayed up to watch it so why not share it?" 

So I'm submitting the post to encourage others with slender means like me to have a go with whatever they've got.  It may not be technically brilliant - but anything you record will be what you saw at a unique time - and you may never see anything like it again.  I have received so much encouragement myself from this forum I hope this will help someone in return.

[laudropb]

A very nice report and an enjoyable read. The video is fine and a good record of a memorable observing event. Thank you for built up the courage to post.

[xtreemchaos]

great report and vid mate.  well done.  thanks for sharing  charl.

[Mrbloke]

An enjoyable report, I am glad you shared it. Reports like yours do help to inspire others to go out and create memorable evenings of their own, so please don't stop here.

[davefrance]

Great report and video, thanks for sharing. 

[Astro Imp]

I enjoyed that a lot, thanks.

[Relpet]

A very nice report and an enjoyable read. The video is fine and a good record of a memorable observing event. Thank you for built up the courage to post.

Thanks so much.  Positive comments really do lead you on.

[Relpet]

great report and vid mate.  well done.  thanks for sharing  charl.

A real confidence build ing response.  Thank you.

[Relpet]

An enjoyable report, I am glad you shared it. Reports like yours do help to inspire others to go out and create memorable evenings of their own, so please don't stop here.

That's the sort of pat on the back that gives you such a lift.  Thank you.

The memory of that event would have stayed in my mind's eye but being able to record it, however naively, preserves the reality.  Where to next with a 25 quid EP?  Thanks to your and other kind remarks I'll think of something!

[Relpet]

I enjoyed that a lot, thanks.

No, thank you, Alan.