Lunar Eclipse 10-27-2004

Here are some pictures of the lunar eclipse on 27 October 2004. I was pleasantly surprised at how well they turned out for several reasons. The first is that it's difficult to take good pictures of any astronomical objects with just a camera given the enormous difference between their size and their distance from earth. Also, it was cold and foggy here in Lafayette and condensation on the lens was a problem. While the moon was in the shadow of the earth, it was so dim that you couldn't pick out details with the naked eye, but the camera did fairly well. Also, during the course of these eight-second exposures, motion of the moon relative to earth is actually visible, and this causes a bit of blurring.

Click on the thumbnails to view large images.