The Lunar Eclipse Experiment

I hadn’t planned to watch last night’s lunar eclipse, but as it drew near, I felt compelled to go outside and witness it. After all, I was still awake, and there wouldn’t be another opportunity to view a total lunar eclipse in the continental US until April 15, 2014. I felt like I should take advantage of the unique opportunity.

It was almost 1:00 am when I walked into the back yard and sat down next to the pool to watch the spectacle taking place in the night sky. Coincidently, the lunar eclipse was taking place on the same night as the winter solstice which marks the time when the Earth’s axial tilt is farthest away from the sun. The last time the lunar eclipse occurred on the same night as the Winter Solstice was in 1638. Because of the winter solstice, the moon appeared high in the night sky making it easy for star gazers to view it. I sat patiently as the shadow of the Earth began to creep over the face of the moon. I’ve seen it before, but it never gets old. The only thing that would have made it better was a close-up view. If only I had a telescope, I thought. Wait, I do have a telescope!

I snuck back inside, gathering the scope, accessories, and tripod. After assembling everything and changing out the old batteries, I was ready to go. Thankfully, the lunar eclipse passes slowly! The view from a telescope was amazing. I was able to see more definition on the surface of the moon and view more of the reddish color that accompanies a total lunar eclipse. I wish I had a camera to capture it. Wait, I do have a camera!

I rushed back inside to grab my pocket camera. I have used my telescope plenty of times before, but I have never tried to capture of picture through it’s lens. I wasn’t sure it would work, but I thought I’d give it a shot and see what happened. It would be my little eclipse experiment.

I gently placed the camera on top of the telescope lens, and to my surprise, it was able to capture the image displayed in the scope. Encouraged by my success, I changed a few settings on my camera and started snapping away. The pictures aren’t the best moon shots I’ve ever seen (you can’t see much of the surface definition), but then again they aren’t too bad for a cheap little camera pointed through the lens of an amateur, entry-level telescope. I have posted a few of the untouched, unedited pictures below. Check them out, and let me know what you think. I had a fun time playing with it. I may just have to repeat this little experiment again.

Lunar Eclipse with Moon Filter on the Lens

Lunar Eclipse with a 25mm Lens on a Meade ETX 70 Telescope

Lunar Eclipse with a 9 mm Lens

Full Lunar Eclipse