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Total Lunar Eclipse 2015 April 04 The last total lunar eclipse visible over Melbourne for three years occurred on 2014 April 04 during late evening hours. The eclipse magnitude of 1.006 indicated that the Moon would just fully enter the Earth's umbra and the length of totality was going to be very short, 12 minutes - 1154UT (22:54 AEDT) to 1206UT (23:06 AEDT). The cloud forecast was spot on, as early cloud cleared away to leave essentially clear skies in the direction of the eclipse. Just before totality I set up my camera and lens on the pavement outside my apartment block and was joined by several interested passers by. By observation I would place the brightness of the Moon during totality as being 4 on the Danjon scale. Here are my results.
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22:37 AEDT, 1/4 sec exposure, f4, ISO640; tripod-mounted Canon 5D II and 500mm f4 lens. |
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22:51 AEDT, details as above. A few minutes before totality. |
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23:00 AEDT; details as above. Mid eclipse: note the bluish colouration lower left due to light reaching the Moon through the Earth's ozone layer. |
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23:15 AEDT; details as above. Nine minutes after totality. |
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23:35 AEDT; details as above. The Moon is moving increasingly into the Earth's penumbral shadow. |
