The Lunar Eclipse 2010

Taken at approx. 2:45 AM EST December 21, 2010

So, I arrive home on Tuesday at about 2:00 AM and its freezing cold with strong winds. I have a dying hot water heater that I'm trying to keep alive, a sleeping girlfriend that has been only getting a few hours sleep a night because she works extended hours in retail during the holiday season, and three hungry and curious cats to tend to as well.

So the question is, should I make the effort to lug my gear out from the bedroom and set up on the porch where it looks like I might have a decent attack of it through some tree branches?

Well, considering that this event has not been seen for 372 years where there is a winter solstice and a total lunar eclipse and being in awe of this spectacle as I gaze up into the clear night I decide its worth the effort.

So, this was actually shot through some thin tree branches that were swaying back and forth in front of my line of vision. I was using a 500mm lens mounted on a heavy tripod, but the strong winds were still quite challenging to hold steady during the long exposure. With these challenges the image is not quite as sharp as I would have liked but it still came out quite acceptable I feel.

This moment is just as the Earth was about to completely shadow the moon, and you can see the remaining unblocked sunlight still kissing the very right edge of the moons surface, The orange and red hues are from the suns light filtering through the earths atmosphere causing these blood moon colors and effect. Heavy volcanic activity and ash in the earths atmosphere lends to this color.

In the end, the water heater was fired up, the cats were fed and happy, the GF got her sleep and has some images to see as viewed from our own back porch. And I got mine ;)