Looking forward to the Total Lunar Eclipse, 8th October 2014

[Matt Wastell]

Hello all
I am looking forward to the Lunar Eclipse in just over a month - I have probably just jinxed it now!
I plan to do some imaging - unfortunately my set up has to be the larger LX90 & Nikon - I would prefer to use the smaller 60mm Tak but my DMK31 is a the mono version and I will miss the colour! Any second hand DBK 31's out there?
Anyone else planning to view?

[StephenM]

Yes, I'll be out there Matt! I'm thinking of putting together a very wide angle series this time... Have been thinking about good locations for a few weeks now. Lets hope the weather cooperates like the last one!

[Mark Johnston]

I was quite happy with my Canon DSLR on the Meade for the last one. They work quite well for eclipses. Should be even better now I have the Canon software.

Mark

[multiweb]

+1 never imaged a total only partial.

[gaa_ian]

I will be certainly have my new Canon 700D out for this one & inviting a few folks to join me in Cairns for a viewing night :-)

[N1]

Aah - an eclipse in Cairns. Brings back great memories.:)

[Duniac]

This will be my second photographed lunar eclipse. I have the opportunity to use a Canon EF 500mm f4.0 on my Canon 7d, with the crop factor this will be the equivalent of 800mm. I don't think this will be a problem as I have a very solid tripod.

Should I also use a Canon 1.4x extender on this lens? This would produce an equivalent focal length of 1120mm, however I would loose an f-stop. So my question is, would this be a better setup to use the extender?

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

[h0ughy]

Just over a week out now and looking a the weather predictions you wouldn’t believe it, brilliant weather leading up to it and after but the day of – not so pretty. I am hoping that things change for the better. One thing I didn’t take into account was daylight savings in NSW – it comes into effect this weekend

[PeterEde]

Think I'll set up down the river. Nice clear view to the Adelaide hills.
Must buy new batts.

[PeterEde]

If you understand this already please ignore. Just seen a lot of people get caught in this myth.

Crop factor magnification is a furphy. It's an illusion. Nothing can increase the focal length of a lens.
What crop does is actually reduce the FOV of your lens compared with fullframe.
So you are actually getting less use of your EF lens.
It's what some less reputable camera people use to sell crop frame cameras.

example
http://digital-photography-school.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/full-frame-crop-factor.jpg

RE the 1.4 tele. Go for it. Before getting my telescope I used my 100-400 + 1.4 tele on manfrotto tripod. Remember you'll want shutter up around 1/1000th or better. Which will mean ISO800 +
Is the lens IS?

[DaveGee]

The umbral-limb will occult two bright(ish) stars (SAO109533 and SAO 109563) and both the disappearance and reappearance events for both stars may well be observable from your location - it is for Sydney. In fact the reappearance of the first star and the disappearance of the second star will be during totality from all locations.

Observation timings for any events are:welcome:, and Australian observers should send their reports to me at
(d a v e g a u l t{remove the spaces}@bigpond.com) and New Zealanders should send their reports to Brian Loader (moonocc@gmail.com)

Happy Lunar-ticking...!
DaveGault

P.S. Dave Herald writes...
Uranus is located quite close to the moon during this eclipse. In fact, if you were located in eastern Russia, China, or northern Greenland, you could observe an occultation of Uranus during totality. For observers in Australia/New Zealand, Uranus will be located about 1.5 deg south of the moon.

[gaa_ian]

Thanks for the information Dave.
I will be doing a public night for the eclipse and will certainly be looking for Uranus, so close to the moon !

[N1]

The Moon will also occult Uranus for parts of Hokkaido, Japan according to the map in your post. This would greatly increase the odds of someone taking some pretty neat pictures of a deep red Moon eclipsing a pale blue Uranus. How cool is that.

[h0ughy]

wow looking at the forecasts i might have to entertain the idea of travelling again to get the whole event in. might be another travel tuesday to image wednesday job:question:

intersting i didnt realise how close uranus is to the moon - but then isnt that what mooning is always about:rofl:

[N1]

Sorry, but I'm one of those who do not understand this. Could be because I'm not a reputable camera dealer cause I'm not a camera dealer :P



Looking at the magnification issue alone, isn't that a bit like saying "by using a 24mm eyepiece you are getting less use of your scope than with a 32mm EP"? I think when comparing full frame with smaller sensors, a change in magnification in the final image is anything but an illusion in the vast majority of cases. In fact, only when the number of pixels per area unit - the pixel density - on both sensors is exactly the same does the "illusion" argument apply. Good luck finding a FF camera with the 7d's pixel density. You'd be looking for a body pushing 30MP. Hardly a practical comparison.

APSC (or "crop") sensors tend to have smaller pixels than full frame sensors. Smaller pixels resolve finer detail (provided the lens used is sufficiently sharp, and that can be a real bottleneck:sadeyes:). So if the optics are good AND there is sufficient light reaching the sensor, I'm not convinced that the 7d will not resolve finer detail than most FF cameras available to mortals today - at the same focal length. I call that higher magnification of a given feature because of the crop sensor. Not because crop sensors are smaller, but because they have a higher pixel density. For an eclipse specifically, it stands to reason a crop sensor is actually the better choice over full frame plus x1.4 extender using the same lens. The extender slows the lens down & introduces extra glass, the smaller sensor may introduce more image noise at the same ISO setting, but doesn't need the same setting because of the faster f ratio.

However, I do agree that saying the magnification factor of APSC sensors is at x1.6 is a bit misleading and only applies when looking at the photo as a whole, not the features in the photo. Most of the time, the factor is something other than 1.6. For instance comparing the 7d with, say, the 6d, it would be around x1.5 I expect. That's the ratio of the respective pixel sizes (6.54µm:4.3µm). I also agree that crop sensors aren't always desirable in the field due to higher image noise in low light and, yes, magnified lens aberrations.

Bottom line: Go for it Duniac, the 7d does magnify :P, it will not disappoint, and it's certainly no worse for this purpose than most full frame cameras.

Other thoughts appreciated.

[kkara4]

I too am getting really excited about this one. Using sparkocam and Oovoo i managed to live stream the moon yesterday in near HD to two friends in Brisbane...my two astro friends in england are super keen to see my stream now on eclipse night! Brisbane weather is looking clear too :)

RE crop sensor, an APS-C sensor is physically smaller than full frame. Hence you are only sampling a 40% fraction of the image circle produced by the lens, whereas a full frame sensor samples the entire image circle.

Hence you have an effective magnification of 1.6x a full frame sensor. The bulk magnification comes from the lens focal length eg 500mm = 50x.

A full frame sensor is 36x24mm.

[mithrandir]

The APS-C crop factor varies by brand. For Canon it's 1.6. For Nikon and Sony it's 1.5

I've got a couple of Sony APS-C bodies (a200 and a77) and a full-frame a7s. The only lens I have that is 100% full-frame compatible is a Sigma 150-500 and switching the a7s between APS-C and FF mode makes a dramatic difference to the FOV. Now comes the wait for a larger range of FF E-mount lenses.

[kkara4]

Yep sorry completely forgot to write that I assumed i was talking about Canon!

[OzEclipse]

http://www.joe-cali.com/eclipses/PLANNING/TLE%2020141008/index.html

[OzStarGazer]

Typical!! :mad2:

[OzEclipse]

Here is the GFS time series meteogram for ACT

[OzEclipse]

Here is the GFS time series meteogram for Sydney. At the moment, the model indicates heavier cloud coming in just as the eclipse begins. Give it another day or two, the system might slow down and you may yet see it.

Joe

[OzEclipse]

Weather Prospects Melbourne
Here is the GFS time series meteogram for Melbourne. At the moment, the model indicates variable light cloud cover perhaps broken or transparent high level cloud before during and after the eclipse.

Joe

[h0ughy]

is this the same news for Newcastle, Port Macquarie, Tamworth?

[OzEclipse]

Houghy,

Tamworth is a little better than Port Mc. Newcastle is worse than Sydney in the current model run. But there are many many more GFS model runs due to be published before Wednesday each will become progressively more accurate.

At present Moree is looking good and NW of Goondiwindi excellent if you want to travel.

You can do your own time series predictions for your location on the NOAA Air Resources Laboratory web site. Note that the GFS model has limited spatial resolution±0.5 degrees.

http://www.arl.noaa.gov/

Just plug in your Lat long and select the meteogram/ total cloud cover option.

Andrew Cools Skippy Sky site publishes the same info from the same model using a 2D map format. When displaying information, you have to make compromises. Andrew's web app is a very slick, user friendly, graphical representation of the GFS model predictions. However Andrew's site only gives 12hr time increments. This isn't a criticism, Andrew funds Skippy Sky out of his own pocket. The data downloads from the model publications cost him a bomb. He can't afford to increase the temporal resolution.

The ARL site is not user friendly, gives finer time increments but gives a plot of a selected meteorological parameter against time. I use a combination of both when evaluating weather (and whether ;-).

images below from left are for Newcastle, Port Macquarrie, Tamworth, Moree and a bit NW of Goondiwindi.

Joe

[h0ughy]

thanks Joe - you can see i was trying to cover a 4-5 hour drive and setup. no luck by the looks

[RB]

Mangrove Mountain will be clear mate !

:P

[h0ughy]

:rofl: not looking at that forecast

[ZeroID]

Current forecast is for rain here on Wednesday evening ... :shrug: :sadeyes:

[OzStarGazer]

I will most probably have to watch it online from the USA, like last time. If the weather is bad here, it is also bad in Sydney, so the streaming from Sydney will be ruined too.
I didn't have much hope anyway. The weather is always bad here when there is an eclipse, and it is bad only at the time of the eclipse (perfectly fine before and after it).
Should the cloud gods have some mercy :bowdown:, it should be mostly visible from my balcony (not the penumbral phase I think, well, maybe from behind some branches), but the umbral and total eclipse should be visible alright, even in a good position. I would be happy if I could at least get a few glimpses of it!

[rustigsmed]

looks like the weather is going to spoil the party in Melbourne :( shouldn't be surprised I suppose.

[kkara4]

Starting to look worse and worse for BNE as well, although I still have a feeling it will remain somewhat clear.

Rain before will rule out the telescope, but at least i can set up the long lens still.

:( Fingers crossed!

Joe do you have a meteogram for Brisbane by any chance?

[ZeroID]

I'll have DSLR, Tripod and tele lens ready but we're scheduled for gales here now. It just gets better ... NOT! :shrug:
I got glimpses and a pic or two last time through high speed clouds so got to be ready to go.
I'll leave the Ob closed down and secured, I don't want the roof being found in the neighbours garden for a third time.... :rolleyes:

[h0ughy]

well i might not set up much - might not get to see this

[OzEclipse]

Sorry, I don't do them for foreign countries :)

Seriously, 24 hrs out, skippy sky has 3hr increments. It gives a clearer picture and uses the same base forecast data - the global forecasting system model.

Seems to be low cloud <2000 m east of and on the Great Divide right along the Eastern seaboard. Good news is that if you can get about 20km west of the cloud edge, you should see the partially eclipsed moon 15 degrees altitude above the cloud. Anywhere on the New England Highway from Warwick to Toowoomba is looking clear.

good luck

Joe

[PeterEde]

Partly cloudy in Adelaide tonight. But who know what will peak through the clouds

[kkara4]

Haha cheers Joe

its not looking good. but ill take breaks in the cloud. unfortunately getting away from home at that time of night really isnt an option for me :(. oh well if nature brings in the cloud, so be it. I will wait patiently till the next one, and work with today's as much as i can.

[PeterEde]

Anywhere for the actual times by state?
News.com has just published 855pm for Adelaide. That's not right. Should be just after sunset at 730ish?

[h0ughy]

looks like it will be clear at dunedoo? road trip very soon

[RB]

"We'rrrre goooiiiing to Dunedoo, we'rrrre goooiiiing to Dunedoo" :rockband:
How's the serenity?

:lol:

[h0ughy]

you coming:question:

[RB]

I wish I could mate but I can't get away.
Good luck, hope you get some great shots.

:thumbsup:

[michaellxv]

Most news services are promoting the hour of total eclipse and it does appear to be getting good coverage.

In Adelaide the penumbral phase starts before moonrise which is at 19:15. From my timing last night add about 30min for it to clear the hills and the cloud bank on top and you can watch from 19:45 if you have a clear view to the hills.

[PeterEde]

Thanks Michael. just wanted to keep a few friends informed. they had links saying 855pm. Would have missed it
I'll be down Port River. clear to the hills

[Becstar]

I am but the weather is looking a little dismal down here in Moe. I'll have the camera ready just in case regardless.

[kkara4]

Looking better for BNE now. Still optimistic. I'll take broken cloud. anything but solid cloud and rain

[flavius]

Sydney is looking better... but probably going to get worse in time for the eclipse.

Fingers crossed for a glimpse!

[Kurt]

According to SkippySky, Sydney will be mostly covered. From the predictions, Yass looks to be a likely contender!?

Anything just North or North West of Canberra should see clear coverage for the entire duration.

Road-trip? lol

[alan meehan]

Sky is cleaning up in Newcastle might get some viewing between the clouds,just spoke to Dave he is in Dunedoo
AL

[Amaranthus]

Southern Tassie has teasing patches of blue among the grey clouds. Will it clear? SkS says... maybe!

[ZeroID]

50-60% Cloud coverage here but I've powered up the Ob and charged all the Camera batteries. We will get sucker holes I hope and it's not too thick so even some moody, wispy coverage shots would be good. That's about all I got last time.
Tripod and big lens is out if it's the last option.

[OzStarGazer]

Absolutely stunning night in LA according to the online commentators of the live streaming. So that's where I am.
I had no hope to see it from here anyway... :(

[JohnG]

Cootamundra, what are clouds... not a cloud in the sky, Mark (Multiweb) and I have perfect conditions :D

[OzStarGazer]

Pretty interesting. They are also showing some past "weird" eclipses. Plus they have music in the background. I am going to grab a drink now. :)

[Wavytone]

Can see the moon and quite a few stars here (Killara, northern Sydney) at 7:55pm. Big blue hole opening up to the extent over 50% of the sky is free of cloud, though a bit hazy. Looks like I'll see first contact for sure.

[AstralTraveller]

Grrrr .... Does the word 'blanket' mean anything to you? :mad2:

[OzStarGazer]

It is not THAT bad to watch it online. After all people use webcams to see the moon on their monitors... But it is still disappointing. Yesterday I went out with a temperature to buy a battery for the finderscope (it had just gone out). Today I charged the battery of both my cameras and prepared everything. It was sunny all day but of course as usual the weather changed for the eclipse. :(

[swannies1983]

High cloud in Adelaide but should clear. Apart from the early eclipse this year, the previous two total events were spoilt by cloud.

[OzStarGazer]

It is starting to look interesting right now.

[mental4astro]

My view: :cloudy:

:(

[pgc hunter]

Wasn't even aware of this! Just went outside to feed the dog, look up... heh moon is partially obscured. Cool!

[elfinke]

Stunning amount of cloud here tonight. First cloudy evening in weeks :/

[shelltree]

I got a few shots before the bank of clouds rolled in... *sigh*

[rustigsmed]

Well had a good view and now right on time massive cloud 15 mins before totality...:shrug:

[BeanBear]

High thin cloud here, I can see how good it could have been :(.

[CJ]

Grrrr.

[Matt Wastell]

Hopeless here in Brisbane - I got a 2 second view & an image with clouds / or Earth shadow!?
Maybe post total?

[Kunama]

For once, Canberra was/is the place to be ............ perfect view. Even managed to talk my dearly beloved to take a peek through the Takkyhashish.

[OzStarGazer]

I didn't get a SINGLE glimpse of it in the "real sky".
PS: As I said, I watched it online from LA. The Sydney Observatory site says "The Sydney Observatory is currently experiencing cloud cover."

[BeanBear]

Starting to clear here, can see some detail and good colour.

[Amaranthus]

Skies have cleared beautifully here for the peak event!

[swannies1983]

Getting some good views in Adelaide. Some high cloud spoiling it every now and then.

[Matt Wastell]

I cannot tell if the dark patches is the sky or darker clouds!

[icytailmark]

gotta love everytime we have an eclipse sydney always misses out due to crap weather

[daztay]

Here in Melb
All revved up and no place to go
:cloudy:

[swannies1983]

Mid eclipse and skies have cleared.

[Khuda777]

All clouds and not dark enough over here in WA :(

[ZeroID]

A77 on the Lunt and EQ6. (That way I could keep track of it when it was hiding ) Got some sucker hole shots in the early part, and a few with a bright edge. Then 100% clouds. So switched to 10 second exposures @ 800 ISO and waited for some hazy spots. Got some very orangey coloured pix and a few as it starts to brighten up again but now it is 120% clouds, 2 decks deep !!
I'll sort them tomorrow, it's after midnight here.

[omegacrux]

Nice and clear here , good views of the whole event so far .
Happy vegimite

David

[Amaranthus]

Got some apparently good shots with my tripod-mounted Sony NEX with the 55mm lens at f/5.6. Will have to see how it comes out in processing...

[swannies1983]

End of totality just started

[knightrider]

Nice and clear in sunny/moony north qld. It looks surreal through the binoculars and the telescope. Makes me think that Mars would look like this if it was really close. Took some photos on the DSLR through the scope, looks like they turned out well.

The stars making a full backdrop behind it really make it look almost 3d

[Ryderscope]

I can report that it has been a beautiful event and completely clear from Glanmire NSW (15km east of Bathurst). Managed to get a sequence of shots leading up to totality. A simply stunning spectacle. Very happy.

[CJ]

I was getting that too!

[GraemeT]

I had a very poor view - a few early glimpses through gaps in the cloud and a very short glimpse of a crescent just before totality and then nothing! That's northern Sydney, Glenhaven.

[JethroB76]

Great view in Launceston - even tempted the wife to come out for a look :lol:

[Nikolas]

Melbourne was disturbed from its cloud cover by brief glimpses of the moon.

[Andrew C]

Plenty of spectators at Anzac Hill - photo taken shortly before end of full eclipse.

[Khuda777]

Cleared up real good here (WA) :) Wife got some good pics by aiming her iPhone down the eyepiece (my Galaxy S5 just wasn't doing it tonight!)

[Khuda777]

Yep, tempted my wife to come out and have a peek to Winning!
:lol:

[OzStarGazer]

Sometimes I think astronomy is not for me because of the high level of frustration on nights like this... I haven't seen a single glimpse of a single eclipse since I bought my scopes. Well, not in the real sky, only online. Actually yes, I saw about 2 secs of the sun's eclipse. 2 secs. I did see Saturn's occultation too (twice), but nothing of the lunar eclipses. Maybe I should find another hobby. :(

[BeanBear]

Great views for Adelaide once the high cloud cleared.

[alan meehan]

Cloud cleared in Newcastle for most of the eclipse,was lovey to see,first time I have used my new observatory and my new c11 got some nice shots
Al

[ath]

Damn, i feel your pain mate, I really do. I was reading your post above and thought that maybe I'd written the post as I've often felt that way (tonight included)! Since I was about 8 years old I've looked to the sky for almost every single 'publicized' celestial event and nearly every single time it's been cloudy or raining or I've got hypothermia waiting for a glimpse of *insert astronomical event here*. Just guessing but you don't happen to live in Victoria any any chance do you? ;) When it comes to astronomy we suck at putting on a show... ...the more unique the event the higher the chances of cloud! Sometimes I think it's my fault! (Supersticious much?) 8)

Stick at it OzStarGazer, cos one day you'll be in the prime position and the weather will be perfect and all your previous unsuccessful attempts will pay off. I promise!! :)

Here in Greensborough, (Outer Northern Melbourne) it was a sad sight until after totality (21:55) and I was able to fire off a few shots thru the scope. The moon was high enough above the horizon by the time the cloud cleared that I didn't have to climb up on the roof with my Refractor, camera, beer etc. the downside being that I'd perhaps drunken a few too many 'beverages' by that time to get a decent shot :D You win some and ya loose some I guess.

Was wrapt that I got too see anything at the end of the day. How'd everyone else go? Pics or it didn't happen! :) Cheers all!

[Retrograde]

Kind of frustrated too. Managed a peek through a couple of very small gaps in the clouds but not enough time to get really accurate focus for imaging or anything.

Anyway snapped this after totality finished - better than nothing I guess:

[OzEclipse]

Beautiful eclipse. Completely clear from NW edge of Canberra (Hall Village). Great night out.

Joe Cali

[Dieselten]

Total waste of time in Wollongong. Eight eighths cloud cover for the entire duration. Had the 12" Dob ready with the Panoptic 35mm in the focusser...and all I saw was cloud with the occasional fruit-bat flying under it.

Ever tried to observe a fruit-bat in flight with a Panoptic 35mm? It's not easy! :mad2:

[michaellxv]

Just got home from a very frustrating night. Clear all afternoon until just before sunset when patches of cloud started to appear in the east. This only got worse and I watched the first half of the eclipse through a cloud filter while in the west it was clear. Finally started to clear near the end of full eclipse so I could get some shots off but no idea what they look like yet.

Very clear out there now that I have packed up.

Edit: just emptied the camera so here is one straight out of DPP.

[pgc hunter]

Clouded out just in time for totality. Same old Melbourne, same &$%!, different day.

Herp de derp :mad2:

[OzEclipse]

Picture of tonight's eclipse. Late totality ~11:09 UT

Joe

[OzStarGazer]

Thank you. I wanted to get into astronomy since I was a little kid too. It is just so weird and frustrating that it is ALWAYS clear BEFORE and AFTER an event and totally cloudy just during events here. A whole week of rain would not be so frustrating... But ONLY during an event IS frustrating... :( The sun's eclipse was even worse because I could not see it from home (I face East) so I went to another location and I also missed out on the online streaming. It was clear, I saw the first two seconds of it and then the sun disappeared behind a cloud until the end of the eclipse.
Now.... totally clear morning of course.... Not a single cloud...
PS: Are we allowed to swear here? :P

[38degsouth]

A few of the many shots that were submitted almost 'real-time' to Gianluca Masi at Virtual Telescope Project for his worldwide webcast.

There was a lot more cloud than clear sky here in bayside Melbourne -but there were some breaks.

Many thanks to Gianluca for again producing such a wonderfully narrated webcast of this event lastnight -again, it was a pleasure to be a part of!

Regards from Dean.

[andyc]

Some great images here! Got a brief 'suckers gap' break in misty cloud in the Blue Mts 15 mins before totality, but that was it. After a couple of lovely sunny days too! C'est la vie...

[kkara4]

Excellent images Dean! Sounds like you had a lot more breaks than we did!

[OzStarGazer]

This is a quick gif I created from screenshots of the live streaming from LA:
http://makeagif.com/i/s1U72i

Single screenshots:
https://app.box.com/s/gc14hlxxwyybf9h3m81u

Edit: PERFECTLY CLEAR evening tonight... Grrr Why not yesterday???

[CJ]

So, it's not ALWAYS clear when it's a full moon! :rolleyes:

[ZeroID]

Didin't get any clear skies at all in the end, a few hazy sucker holes at best. So get creative. This is taken just as totality is ending, around midnight our time. Visibility was about 10-20% through fast moving clouds.
ISO 800 @ 10 second exposure is as good as stacking. A77 on the LUNT.

[N1]

Brent, that is a great result, considering. We got lucky down here in that the bad weather didn't arrive until after Totality, which was the clearest stage of the whole event. Even got a photographic Aurora :thumbsup:.

[Matt Wastell]

Got a few - here is one - cleared after mid & we had some stunning views to to mid partial.
LX90 & Nikon - 4 sec exp.

[RB]

That's a wonderful shot Matt !

:thumbsup:

[Matt Wastell]

Thanks Andrew (x2)

[kkara4]

That is a truly awesome effort Matt, and I understand it all the more being in Brisbane too and the work I had to do to get pictures not even close to the quality of yours!

What mount do you have? 4s exposure would be a complete mess with my setup due to several reasons.

Any post-processing?

[multiweb]

Looks great Matt. Very sharp. You've got to be stoked with that considering the conditions. Well done. :thumbsup:

[h0ughy]

fantastic clear and sharp shot Matt.:thumbsup:

my efforts are over here (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=127044#post1124417 )