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Lunar Eclipse


Stu

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As I'm sure plenty of us did, I had a fabulous session last night observing the lunar eclipse. I was out in the evening, back around 8.30pm. I didn't set up until around 11pm after a bite to eat and watching a nice programme with Mrs Sumorian.

I just decided on the Tak on the Giro-WR mount for simplicity and because I didn't really have the energy for much else! In addition, I did not want high power views as I wanted to see the eclipse in context with the surroundings.

I took a quick snap before heading to bed, given the forecast I wasn't very optimistic though.

The alarm went off at 2.30, it was probably 2.45 before I was outside, in stealth mode to avoid waking the small person! The eclipse was well underway by that time, and looked wonderful. I could not believe how clear the skies were!! It also felt very wintery, not so much because it was cold, but because the Pleiades was riding high alongside Taurus, and Orion was also making an appearance, first time for me this year. Probably the last time I should observe in shorts and crocs though ;).

I spent until 5.30am observing the eclipse, taking a few snaps with the iPhone, just taking in the lovely sky and also catching a few other showcase objects.

Watching the penumbral shadow creep across the surface of the moon was lovely, but then the transition to a deep Orange colour in the full umbra was spectacular. It was very peaceful and quiet at that time, the streetlights had dimmed and the sky was as dark as I could remember it being from home, measured at mag 19.4 during totality, vs an 18.5 norm on a moonless night.

I think one of my favourite aspects was seeing very faint stars so close to the moon, something that's not normally visible. A quick check showed I was seeing down to mag 11.1 right in close to the limb.

Just to cover a few other objects which showed surprisingly well. M31 and 32 were no surprise, but I also got 110 which is not something I've done in the 4" from home before.

M1 was another surprising catch, looking very obvious, slightly better with UHC than OIII.

The DC was utterly beautiful. I love the tiny pinpoint stars in the centre which are on the limit of visibility, one of my favourite objects to view under steady and transparent conditions. M45 was also looking pretty special and interesting to see the blue white star colours compared with the DCs more colourful range..

Finally M42. Beautiful nebula looking quite extensive and detailed. The Trapezium was sharp, the E component quite obvious at times and I nearly convinced myself that F appeared a couple of times.

Sorry for going 'off piste' with my lunar report, but all in all a wonderful night, unexpected given the poor forecast and great to catch the whole eclipse in all its glory.

I've posted my snaps elsewhere, I'll put a link if I can manage to on the iPhone :)

EDIT Here you go:

http://stargazerslounge.com/index.php?/topic/253629-iPhone-Eclipse-28th-September-2015/page__view__findpost__p__2766456

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Well we were certainly blessed with the weather, super clear sky and super eclipse, think we were really lucky Stu as we had a perfect sky for the Solar eclipse and now a perfect sky for the Lunar eclipse, what are the odds of that in the UK  :eek:

I thought it was my imagination that there were so many stars visible at totality but obviously not, I was taking some NB subs of M76 earlier but switched it all off before the eclipse, would have left it running and done some LRGB on M74 if I'd known how clear it was going to be.

From memory the Moon seemed a lot darker than in the last eclipse which was lower in the sky I think, long time ago so may just be the old grey cells.

Dave

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Well we were certainly blessed with the weather, super clear sky and super eclipse, think we were really lucky Stu as we had a perfect sky for the Solar eclipse and now a perfect sky for the Lunar eclipse, what are the odds of that in the UK :eek:

I thought it was my imagination that there were so many stars visible at totality but obviously not, I was taking some NB subs of M76 earlier but switched it all off before the eclipse, would have left it running and done some LRGB on M74 if I'd known how clear it was going to be.

From memory the Moon seemed a lot darker than in the last eclipse which was lower in the sky I think, long time ago so may just be the old grey cells.

Dave

I reckon we fooled the weather gods Dave. It's often clear at full moon isn't it? This was a full moon but nice and dark so we could observe too :)

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That's such a vivid report. I nipped out in my PJs at 3:45 and it was a really lovely sight with just the old eyeballs. I was really struck by how dark the sky was and how vivid the stars were. That was thr highlight for me, in a way, as its so rare to enjoy a full moon and still see the sky so dark to appreciate the faint stars which are usually completely washed out otherwise.

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Very like my evening/morning. Thanks for the report.

I went with a pair of 10x50s and my ST-80. I was out at 1:45 after an all too brief sleep, so caught the event from the first visible bite so to speak ;)

It might just be me but the Moon in full eclipse seemed more... 3D than normal: beautiful. I'd also found it a highlight to be able to see a full moon surrounded by stars.

It tried the "see how dark it was when compared with pre-eclipse" thing too. Milky Way overhead, naked eye visibility for M31 and the double cluster, and caught M1 (just) and M33 in the bins. None of that was possible earlier!

You're right about wintery too. It was decidedly cool and damp when I packed up. Oh, I managed to find Uranus too.

James

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Great report Stu :grin:

It was a fantastic night and I had my 102mm Vixen out as well as 10x50 binoculars so I was able to take advantage of viewing some of the winter DSO's as well has watching the magnificent lunar eclipse.

Like many I'm feeling a little "worn" this morning but the night was so good that it's all worthwhile :smiley:

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Great report an experience shared by many. I got to my observing spot at around 1.45 am in time for the start of the Penumbral stage. The Sky was looking good, a bit eerie with mist formed around the periphery of the allotment. The shadow stage was very exiting, I just kept saying wow each time I looked through my 15x70 binoculars, stabilized on a monopod whilst I sat back in a camping chair. The whole transition was just magnificent, the three dimensional effect in the mid and later stage quite pronounced and surreal. Great to pan the sky such as for the clusters in Auriga and see Orion for the first time this season, plenty to occupy the eclipse period. I also had my 8" dob set up which provided an alternate view, yet the image of the toned ochre red moon and those accompanying stars, hung within that expanse of the binocular view is unforgettable.  With some reluctance departed at 4.30am.

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Nice report, Stu, and much the same sort of session I had.

I pulled out the Bresser 127L and my Explorer 200P at around 11pm but didn't approach the eyepiece until the eclipse started just after 2am. I then had a fantastic couple of hours observing and snapping a few pictures with the 650D. It was interesting to compare the views through the 5" Refractor and 8" Newt and I have to say I preferred the latter despite my recent obsession with refractors.

The clear dark sky during totality was an unexpected bonus for me and I whizzed around some old favourites with the 200P and Ethos 17mm. M42 was as good as I have seen it (UHC filter fitted) and it made me long for cold, crisp, dark winter nights when it is an almost permanent feature in the evening.

Probably one of the most enjoyable sessions I have had.

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Great report an experience shared by many. I got to my observing spot at around 1.45 am in time for the start of the Penumbral stage. The Sky was looking good, a bit eerie with mist formed around the periphery of the allotment. The shadow stage was very exiting, I just kept saying wow each time I looked through my 15x70 binoculars, stabilized on a monopod whilst I sat back in a camping chair. The whole transition was just magnificent, the three dimensional effect in the mid and later stage quite pronounced and surreal. Great to pan the sky such as for the clusters in Auriga and see Orion for the first time this season, plenty to occupy the eclipse period. I also had my 8" dob set up which provided an alternate view, yet the image of the toned ochre red moon and those accompanying stars, hung within that expanse of the binocular view is unforgettable. With some reluctance departed at 4.30am.

I possibly should have had the binocs out with me, like you I preferred a wide field view in the scope with the moon set in context with the surrounding stars. This seemed to show the 3D effect more and just looked better than with the disk filling the fov

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Nice report, Stu, and much the same sort of session I had.

I pulled out the Bresser 127L and my Explorer 200P at around 11pm but didn't approach the eyepiece until the eclipse started just after 2am. I then had a fantastic couple of hours observing and snapping a few pictures with the 650D. It was interesting to compare the views through the 5" Refractor and 8" Newt and I have to say I preferred the latter despite my recent obsession with refractors.

The clear dark sky during totality was an unexpected bonus for me and I whizzed around some old favourites with the 200P and Ethos 17mm. M42 was as good as I have seen it (UHC filter fitted) and it made me long for cold, crisp, dark winter nights when it is an almost permanent feature in the evening.

Probably one of the most enjoyable sessions I have had.

Glad you got good skies too Derek. I agree, it was the fact that it was so unexpected, and the skies were so dark that made it all the more spectacular.

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Glad you got good skies too Derek. I agree, it was the fact that it was so unexpected, and the skies were so dark that made it all the more spectacular.

It might have been the lack of sleep or the whisky I had at 3am but I did find myself standing in the garden wondering whether or not the moon has an affect on the sky even when below the horizon. A total eclipse is the only time when the moon's intense glow is completely absent in our atmosphere so perhaps that was a factor in just how dark and clear the sky was. I noticed that the light pollution from the southeast and north of my location looked much more like defined orange domes than they normally do and the rest of the sky was very dark. Perhaps the Moon (whether up or down) puts a milky wash through our atmosphere that normally enhances light pollution but at times like last night was simply not there?

Does that make sense?

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Many thanks for a great report. Superlatives tend to get a bit overused these days (imo) but last night was "fabulous" indeed. I was out with my Pentaxs' last night which were ideal for the eclipse. The skies were just so clear, the clearest I've seen in quite a while. M45 which is so often a slightly hazy twinkling better caught naked eye with averted vision was there seen quite plainly with the naked eye as individual stars. As the skies darkened it was wonderful to wander around the sky picking off many objects whilst periodically coming back to the main event. Stunning, just stunning.

When this particular event happens again I will be 80 something (if I'm lucky) and my faculties will in all likelihood be somewhat dimmed and diminished, so a little chilled, I returned to bed with the thought that I will almost certainly never see a lunar eclipse as good as that again. I felt so fortunate to have been out there. What's wrong with Crocs and socks? 

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I'm assuming the cloud gods did not play ball Gordon? :(

They were playing hard ball, Stu. :-(( A rather frustrating time, I'm afraid. And that's that I fear, 'cos I doubt if I'll still be around for the 2033 rerun - and if I am, someone will have to carry my scope out for me!

But hey - sometimes you get the bear; sometimes the bear gets you.

Glad to hear so many Loungers made the most of their good skies.

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Lovely report. I enjoyed the whole experience, even though we had a fair bit of misty cloud to contend with. I certainly could not see any stars in the vicinity of the Moon and the surface features were very muted. Still managed a very sketches, so can't complain.

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Didn't get to see it as I was fast asleep.

However, I was watching it over a period of time until I went to bed.

Just have to say that although I am a new member on this forum, I've always had a passion for the night sky and to me the simple beauty of the moon over the last few nights has been amazing.

Such clairty with the 10x50's looking at Tycho's crate and the seas and other craters.

I had my Universe book out identifying all the noted areas and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Use the new Dob on the Moon last week was brilliant too. The details of the crates etc was amazing and even the wife was impressed.

So for me, one of the best sights in the night sky is right on our doorstep.

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