Yep, I’m actually out watching the lunar eclipse progress – or at least, I was. The conditions are deteriorating and I’m both too cold and too tired to stay with it. This is as close as I’m likely to get to live-blogging, by the way. I know that’s disappointing my legions of followers who have been waiting for an update.
In my area, we’ve got thin overcast starting to obscure the details and reducing the light from the moon, making the earthglow of the shadowed portion difficult to capture. It’s cold enough that I can’t remain outside with the digital camera (even if I was so inclined) because the batteries lose their charge in such conditions.
Anyway, I’ll be back shortly with some cold-weather tips and a new addition, my christmas gifts to you. Hopefully, if you’re following the eclipse you’re having better luck than I am – I don’t get too fired up about planning astronomical observations like eclipses and meteor showers anymore, since the weather cooperates only haphazardly. In the meantime, you can check out this animated gif of the last total lunar we had, a few years ago. You’ll notice some exposure variations as we tried to stay on top of the changing light levels, capturing either the shadowed or sunlit side. That was a much better night.