Thursday, March 13, 2025
Twilight Partial Lunar exclipse (Friday 14 March, 2025) and Livestreams of the Total Eclipse
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| Evening sky on March 14 looking east as seen from Brisbane at 18:15 AEST, 10 minutes after Moon rise, the inset is the moon a | Evening sky on March 14 looking east as seen from Melbourne at 19:45 AEDST, 5 minutes after Moon rise | Evening sky on March 14 looking east as seen from Sydney at 19:35 AEDST, 20 minutes after Moon rise |
On the early evening of Friday, 15 March there is a partial lunar eclipse low in the twilight in the Eastern sates. The Moon rises as the eclipse is finishing with only a small portion of the moon is in the deepest part of Earth's shadow (elsewhere in the world sees a Total Lunar Eclipse).
Live streams of the eclipse can de see at:
Time and date March 14 16:00 AEDST: https://www.timeanddate.com/live/eclipse-lunar-2025-march-14
Virtual telescope Live webtv March 14 17:00 AEDST: https://www.virtualtelescope.eu/webtv/
Griffith University in California March 14: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BguB5KSBYd0
| City | Moon rise | Umbral eclipse ends |
| Brisbane | 8:05 AEST | 18:41 AEST |
| Melbourne | 19:40 AEDST | 19:47 AEDST |
| Sydney | 19:14 AEDST | 19:47 AEDST |
Labels: eclipse, live-stream, lunar eclipse, Moon, partial, unaided eye
Wednesday, November 17, 2021
Twilight Lunar exclipse (19 November, 2021)
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| Evening sky on November 19 looking east as seen Adelaide at 20:31 ACDST, at civil twilight. Click to embiggen. | Evening sky on November 19 looking east as seen Brisbane at 19:02 AEST, at mid eclipse |
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| Evening sky on November 19 looking east as seen Melbourne at 20:43 AEST, at civil twilight | Evening sky on November 19 looking east as seen from Sydney at 20:02 AEDST at mid eclipse |
Thus Friday (19 November) we have a twilight Partial Lunar Eclipse, while its is a very deep partial eclipse, almost total, it will be difficult to see as most of the eclipse occurs in the twilight (see times for major cities below, bolded times are for mid-eclipse occurring after civil twilight).
The Moon rises eclipsed and the shadow slips off the Moon during twilight. Best seen from the east coast, the central states see the final parts of the eclipse in twilight and Western Australia sees virtually nothing. Still will be interesting to see for eastern and central states though.
You don't need special filters or fancy equipment to watch the lunar eclipse, you just need your eyes and somewhere comfortable to sit and watch. Watching the shadow of earth creep across the Moons' face is quite entrancing.
As most of the eclipse occur in the twilight, the eclipsed section of the Moon will be a ghostly ashen colour against the lighted segment (rather than the reddish colour seen after full dark), which adds an extra element to this eclipse. The Moon may be difficult to spot on the East Coast as it rises eclipsed in the east.This is also almost an apogee full Moon ("mini Moon") with apogee occurring on the 21st.
|
City |
Eclipse start |
Moon rise |
Mid eclipse |
Civil twilight |
Eclipse end |
Nautical twilight |
|
Adelaide ACDST |
17:48 |
19:59 |
19:32 |
20:31 |
21:17 |
21:06 |
|
Brisbane AEST |
17:18 |
18:14 |
19:02 |
18:46 |
20:47 |
19:16 |
|
Cairns AEST |
17:18 |
18:26 |
19:02 |
18:54 |
20:47 |
19:22 |
|
Canberra AEDST |
18:18 |
19:46 |
20:02 |
20:20 |
21:47 |
20:55 |
|
Darwin ACST |
16:48 |
18:51 |
18:32 |
19:16 |
20:17 |
19:43 |
|
Freemantle AWST |
15:18 |
18:58 |
17:02 |
19:25 |
18:47 |
19:58 |
|
Hobart AEDST |
18:18 |
19:43 |
20:02 |
20:21 |
21:47 |
21:03 |
|
Melbourne AEDST |
18:18 AEDST |
20:09 |
20:02 |
20:43 |
21:47 |
21:19 |
|
Perth AWST |
15:18 |
18:58 |
17:02 |
19:25 |
18:47 |
19:58 |
|
Sydney AEDST |
18:18 |
19:34 |
20:02 |
20:07 |
21:47 |
20:41 |
Labels: eclipse, Moon, partial, unaided eye
Friday, May 10, 2013
Quick Images of the Solar Eclipse from Adelaide, 10 May 2013
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| The Sun finally rises above the cloud at 7:42 am (binocular projection) Click on this or any image to embiggen for greater viewing pleasure | Near maximum eclipse, 8:15 am. Taken through my 4" Newtonian with a 30 mm Plossl eyepiece and a Canon IXUS 400 ASA 1/500 sec exposure (infinity to infinity focussing). Nice and clear, good detail on the sunspots, shame about the guff on the CCD chip (upper left) |
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| Gaps between the vine leaves on the verandah acted as a pinhole camera and cast shadows of the eclipse on the wall. | As the Moon moved off the Sun, the cloud came over again. This is a nice effect I think. The image is brighter due to auto exposure over compensating. |
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| The Moon edges off the Sun - Binocular Projection | 9:20 am, the Moon is just about to leave the Sun. Foolishly, I tried to swap lenses. This was a disaster, went back to the original lens, but forgot to adjust the focus (GRRR) so everything is slightly out of focus. |
so I got up at 5:30 am to prepare for the eclipse. Most of that preparation was making the boys lunches early so I didn't have to interrupt eclipse viewing to get them ready. Needn't have bothered as the cloud meant the Sun wasn't visible until after they had left for School.
All the plans I had made for viewing the eclipse were thrown out by the cloud lurking on the horizon. There was no point going to the viewing spot I selected as the cloud rendered it pointless, so I viewed from my back yard instead.
At least that gave me plenty of time to set up my telescope and binocular projection system. I was also going to set up the SLR camera, but the solar filter I had made for it was tidied away in the Great Room Renovation, and I stuck with the two systems I had.
The Sun finally struggled through the clouds, already significantly eclipsed. But it did look quite dramatic with the cloud streaked over it. This was the point everything started to go wrong with the telescope. First I couldn't get the scope pointed, after much struggle and a strategic move of a portable washing line to project the shadow of the scope, I finally got it lined up. Then the camera adaptor wouldn't adapt. I've been using it quite a lot, but this morning I just couldn't get anything to align.
I finally got it set up and taking pictures just before maximum eclipse, and got through util 8:30, when I had to take smallest one to School. He did see the eclipse at maximum, and the pinhole shadows made by the vine leaves though. I was noticeably cool as we walked to school.
When I got back, clouds had come over again. After a bit of futzing around I got imaging again.
Then I had the bright idea of swapping lenses from the 30 mm Plossl to the 25 mm Plossl, we that was a disaster, if I had trouble with the camera adaptor with the 30 mm, the 25 mm was a nightmare. Note that this is my workhorse combination for lunar imaging, so I have no idea why it went pear-shaped today.
Went back to the 30 mm, and started taking snaps, as the Moon edged off the Sun. To capture it clearly, I ran set of 10 auto exposures. It was only after the eclipse was over that I realised that I had forgotten to refocus after swapping lenses, so I have a complete set of the Sun moving off the Moon, out of focus.
Still, I got to see it, and it was awesome.The sight of the eclipsed Sun emerging through the clouds, the crescent shadows, the big bite through the Sun, the cool effects of thin cloud going over, and sharing it with SmallestOne. Who cares if a few photos are out of focus.
Labels: eclipse, partial, solar
Friday, April 26, 2013
Pictures of a Cloudy Partial Eclipse, Friday April 26, 2103
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| The Moon shortly after eclipse started at 5:08 am ACST. Image taken with Canon IXUS at ASA 400 on auto exposure through a 4" Newtonian, and 25 mm eyepiece, infinity to infinity focussing. South pole is already darkening (click to embiggen). | Moon at 5:11 am, darkness is encroaching. |
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| Moon at 5:14 diffuse cloud messing up the brightness | Moon at 5:21 am, last decent shot, thin cloud messing up exposure. |
Before heading to bed in preparation for the mornings partial eclipse, I checked the sky. After the cloud of the morning the sky was brilliantly clear. Arising at 4:45 am this morning the sky was still clear with a few fluffy clouds about, perfect!
Of course, as soon as I had the telescope set up (with my little 4" Newtonian for easy of use), the clouds started coming over. I started imaging when the bottom of the Moon was already visibly dark from the penumbra, so I don't have a good "start" comparison image (hey getting up at 4:45 am after a 5 am rise for the Dawn Service the previous day was pretty good I thought). Have a look at the "before" image from last years penumbra eclipse for an idea of what the "before" should have been, a nice, more even brightness.
As the eclipse progress the clouds started coming more frequently, getting darker and with fewer gaps. With the unaided eye the darkening was obvious, although confined to a thin sliver at the Moons south.
The problem I had was that the Canon does not have an fixed time setting below 1 second, far too long for exposures with my unguided Newtonina, and over exposing everything except perhaps ASA10. I I had to stick with autoexposure Which is fine if there are no clouds about, but for the latter images cloud was always over the Moon, messing up the exposure so that the darkening on the southern limb is less than what I was seening with my eyes.
9 minutes before maximum eclipse a thick band of cloud came over and squatted there until past maximum . At this stage I packed up and went inside.
After packing up, putting telescope away and so on. I went out side for one last check, and the Moon appeared through a sucker hole, as if to mock me. The darkened south pole was an obvious notch on the base of the Moon.
Labels: eclipse, Moon, partial
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