Here are some 2019 total lunar eclipse photos that we took during the freezing cold night between January 20 and January 21, 2019. The weather was bad before the eclipse day. Luckily, although the sky was somewhat cloudy on the eclipse day, it was clear enough for observing the total lunar eclipse. We decided our viewing spot would be our backyard so that we had all supplies nearby for the super cold night. King Hop went to bed before the eclipse even started. 😆
The moon was very bright before the eclipse. During the penumbral stage (when the moon first moves into the earth’s shadow), there were no visible changes that we could observe. During the partial eclipse stage, the moon started to get “eaten” by the dark shadow of the earth. When the total lunar eclipse began, the moon became almost invisible, the edge of the moon shined with a dim blue glow, and then the moon started to turn red.
A total lunar eclipse is an impressive series of moon face changes. When the moon turns red (blood moon = total lunar eclipse), it looks so bizzare in the sky among the stars! No wonder there were so many legends and mysteries about the blood moon in many cultures!
It was our first time seeing a total lunar eclipse. We learned some lessons from our mistakes.
- Have a camera backup battery. Our biggest mistake was that we didn’t even think about having a backup battery for the camera. Even though we fully charged the battery before the event, our battery ran out of power right in the middle of the eclipse peak (sob).
- Research how to take pictures of the lunar eclipse beforehand. Taking pictures of the lunar eclipse is different than taking pictures of a normal moon. It requires a better understanding of photography. We didn’t realize that the moon moves fast enough to cause long-exposure pictures to become blurry. Plus, we don’t know photography basics well enough to adjust the camera settings for taking pictures of the hard-to-focus dim blood moon. Instead of decreasing the shutter speed (increasing the exposure time), we later learned that increasing ISO is a better option for taking pictures of the moon due to the moon’s constant movement.
- Dress warm enough for all times. It was a cold night and probably not every lunar eclipse would be in a cold night. However, dress warm so that your pleasure of viewing a lunar eclipse wouldn’t be discounted because of the cold.
- Bring and use binoculars. We remembered the next morning that we have binoculars, but we forgot to take them out during the viewing. We would see more details of the moon if we used them! What a silly mistake! 😅
I hope you enjoyed our pictures. The next total lunar eclipse over North America is on May 26, 2021. I hope these tips help you out if you would like to view a total lunar eclipse. It is really neat and I definitely recomend it. Happy Hopping!
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