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Centuries Gone By
Now a Moment in History
This Night; Rare Blood Moon
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The Beaver Moon of November 19, 2021 was the longest partial lunar eclipse since 1440. That was over 600 years ago. In the wee hours of this morning, 97% of the moon was covered in darkness. It was considered a partial – not a total - eclipse. At 3:02 am CT, the celestial body reached maximum eclipse.

To experience this astro phenomena, I spent well over 3 hours outside in sub freezing (in the 20’s Fahrenheit) bitter cold temperatures.

Therefore, once the Eclipse actually started, I was extremely disappointed to discover that the moon had risen (and then remained) too high in the sky for me to use my tripod with the 600mm lens & Pro Body DSLR attached. Even if I sat on the ground (which I tried), the tripod wouldn’t tilt the big lens up at such a steep angle. For a couple of hours, I still kept hoping the steep angle would lessen, but it never did while I was outside. Eventually overwhelmed by the cold around 3:30 AM CT, I finally went back inside. That was a bit after the peak of the eclipse. The moon was starting to move back out of the shadow of the sun. After I finally gave up, this very long eclipse continued on for additional 2 hours plus. Still, no photographs were to be had from my “good camera”; not even if the steep angle ever did change... The peak of the eclipse (when the moon was almost fully covered & turned red) was the climax of the event. At least, I saw that.

Earlier on Thursday night - just before midnight Friday morning - the moon had been in very good viewing position with the 600mm lens/Pro Body set up. I double and triple checked during the evening & had everything all set up for later. Thus, I assumed all would be fine. Unfortunately, things don’t always work out as you plan them. Unexpectedly, the moon kept going higher & higher in the sky and then stayed there well past the peak of the Eclipse. Although I have successfully photographed other total lunar eclipses with this same camera set up in years past, there was no way that my tripod would allow the flexibility needed for the 2021 partial eclipse. Such is life.

Still, I didn’t give up. Determined, I reverted to using a Consumer Bridge Camera that has no tripod mount.

Thus, I was forced to hand hold a little camera that only shoots JPG. Not an ideal situation. But after waiting outside for hours in the cold, I was determined to at least try to get a couple of photos of the eclipse climax. It was really, really cold out. Just as I had to hand hold the bridge camera for the almost total eclipse, I started to physically shiver tremendously . Shivering sure doesn’t make for a steady hand. This particular Bridge Camera also handles noise, low light, and dynamic range very poorly... It also does NOT auto focus well in low light & has worthless manual focus. This absolutely would not have been my camera of choice for the eclipse climax. However when the Pro Body on the tripod didn't work out, I was not prepared with anything else.

Despite all, I somehow did surprisingly manage some respectable photos that have captured a memory of the night. The DSLR with a tripod undoubtedly would have produced far better results. So would having a tripod for even the bridge camera that I eventually used. Still, a memory photo is better than no photo. I managed that. I will now remember the night both in my mind and with a number of decent (although less than perfect) photos.

Actually seeing the moon turn red with your naked eye was even better than any photo. So I hope everyone (who was willing to brave the late hour and the cold) had an opportunity to witness this event for themselves. There won’t be another one just like it this Century. In fact, the next one won’t be until February 8, 2669. That’s over 500 years away.

This morning’s eclipse was a once-in-many-lifetimes event. It was historic. I’m glad that I got to experience it.

PS.
From the start of the eclipse: https://pbase.com/britestar/image/172140647
That was also hand held, but it was from when there was still enough moonlight for the bridge camera (with its limitations) to work with.