Total eclipse of the moon. Did you see it?

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CarlBrannen
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Joined: Mon May 24, 2010 11:34 pm

Total eclipse of the moon. Did you see it?

Post by CarlBrannen » Tue Dec 21, 2010 4:14 am

The clouds briefly parted over Seattle / Redmond and I got to watch the moon transition to totality accompanied by a few stars. Of course in the middle of the city, with humid air and all, the viewing wasn't perfect, but for the area I was surprised. I couldn't photograph the full eclipse as it was too dark for my camera, but I was able to get a photograph of the moon when it was almost total. The moon is reduced to a line:

Image

axiomofchoice
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Re: Total eclipse of the moon. Did you see it?

Post by axiomofchoice » Tue Dec 21, 2010 3:24 pm

I saw it near 3am EST - kinda reddish funny looking, but I don't find it particularly interesting. Guess I'm not of astronomer chop.

CarlBrannen
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Re: Total eclipse of the moon. Did you see it?

Post by CarlBrannen » Tue Dec 21, 2010 8:16 pm

Billions of kilograms of matter, moving under the inexorable laws of gravitation became aligned so exactly as to shield a body (an airless orb accustomed to the glare of almost endless light) from the billions of watts of a star's radiation and you didn't find it fun to watch?

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midwestphysics
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Re: Total eclipse of the moon. Did you see it?

Post by midwestphysics » Tue Dec 21, 2010 9:12 pm

CarlBrannen wrote:Billions of kilograms of matter, moving under the inexorable laws of gravitation became aligned so exactly as to shield a body (an airless orb accustomed to the glare of almost endless light) from the billions of watts of a star's radiation and you didn't find it fun to watch?
I agree it is awesome, unfortunately I had nothing but cloud cover which sucked.

CarlBrannen
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Re: Total eclipse of the moon. Did you see it?

Post by CarlBrannen » Tue Dec 21, 2010 9:17 pm

midwestphysics wrote:I agree it is awesome, unfortunately I had nothing but cloud cover which sucked.
Amazing what a little photo enhancement can do:

Image

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midwestphysics
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Re: Total eclipse of the moon. Did you see it?

Post by midwestphysics » Tue Dec 21, 2010 9:20 pm

Wow, yeah that's a great picture. I can't understand how someone could look up and not be in astonishment. Not trying to knock anyone, but I could look at a photo like that and study it for hours.

axiomofchoice
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Re: Total eclipse of the moon. Did you see it?

Post by axiomofchoice » Tue Dec 21, 2010 9:42 pm

It definitely would be much more interesting if I don't know what's going on :lol:

Now the picture is much more interesting than staring at the moon with naked eyes. It's a bit of a letdown looking at that smallish moon in the sky after I expected to see some awesome things. I'd enjoy it more if I have a telescope or even a decent camera. Maybe there's redemption for me as an astronomer, after all.

The_Duck
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Re: Total eclipse of the moon. Did you see it?

Post by The_Duck » Tue Dec 21, 2010 10:58 pm

I watched the beginning of totality through a telescope; it was pretty fun.



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