Lunar Eclipse tonight

[Damelon]

The last total lunar eclipse until 2010 is tonight:

Tonight's Lunar Eclipse: Last Chance Until 2010
By Brandon Keim February 20, 2008

The earth will pass directly between the sun and moon tonight, causing a full lunar eclipse -- a spectacular sight that won't happen again until December of 2010.
The eclipse will begin at 8:43pm ET, with totality taking place between 10:01pm and 10:51 pm. For other location-specific timelines, consult NASA's official eclipse page.
If you have a camera with a decent zoom lens -- or even more sophisticated equipment -- then get on out and take some photographs. If you send them to me (or, better yet, post them to Flickr and let me know) I'll put together a WiSci reader gallery tomorrow.
Think of this as a modern exercise in engaging with the heavens. Alternatively, you can bang on a drum to frighten the dragon into regurgitating the moon.

[High Lord Tolkien]

Thank you!
I was just about to look up when it was going to start.

[dlbpharmd]

Also, Saturn and Regulus are supposed to be on opposite sides of the moon as well. I hope the weather will clear a little here.

[Menolly]

Yeah...
We're cloudy as well.
Here's hoping.

[Madadeva]

Wonder if my Nikon D300 with 200mm lens can capture it!

[High Lord Tolkien]

oh no! the sky was clear a 1/2 hour ago, now it's clouding up!!!

[matrixman]

Wonder if my Nikon D300 with 200mm lens can capture it!

Why not give it a try? Even if you can't zoom in as close to the moon as you would like, remember that you've got a lot of resolution to play with on the D300. You should still be able to get a decently detailed image of the moon (certainly decent enough for web posting) even after heavy cropping.

It's a bitterly cold but clear night where I am, so I'll go out at around 9 PM to see how the eclipse looks.

[Menolly]

oh wow...
...damn...
It's become crystal clear here
I wish I had a camera
the Moon is awesome

[High Lord Tolkien]

Nice!
It stayed clear.
I let my daughter stay up to see it.
I setup her telescope outside on the back deck too.
(it was REALLY cold but she never complained, unlike me who had to run in a get a cup of tea!)
I LOVE looking at the moon through a telescope.
I could do it for hours.
She loved it too.
She made a little report about what she saw too for school.

I'm sure anyone familiar with telescopes would know this, I didn't!, but when the moon is "dark" and you look at it with a telescope you could see the details of the surface much better than if it's lit up.
It's different obviously, a bluish hue.

Thanks again Damelon.
If you didn't post a reminder I might have forgotten all about this and missed a special moment with my daughter.

[matrixman]

Well, this was my clearest shot:



-Manual mode, ISO 100, aperture f5.6, 10 second exposure


I only stayed outside for a short time, as it was -26 C. Brrr. I managed only a few shots on my tripod before the cold got to me (though the camera still seemed to work fine).

[Creator]

Way cool MM!!

I should have sent you my Nikon ... I have a tripod; but no skills using it! Well, there is always next time!!

[Menolly]

Niiiice, MM!

[matrixman]

Thanks! Don't know if those two bright points in the picture are Saturn and Regulus, as mentioned earlier by dlbpharmd.

[dlbpharmd]

I would think so, but damned if I know which is which!

I watched through the broken clouds for about 20 minutes last night, and then to the west I saw this huge opening in the clouds that was racing toward me, and I knew that would be my best opportunity to see everything clearly. As the cloud break approached, I couldn't help but be reminded of the green moon in TPTP, that Elena Foul-wife sent as an attack signal to Satansfist. Obviously the moon was the wrong color, but you get my completely nerdy drift.

[matrixman]

Well, standing in the bone-chilling cold that night, I could've easily imagined it was Lord Foul's winter.

Or you could just pretend it's Drool Rockworm's red moon...

Please, let the next eclipse be on a summer night.