Tag Archives: eclipse

Lunar Eclipse March 2025

Posted on by March 30, 2025
March 14, 2025.
With each lunar eclipse , the Moon dresses itself in a different robe. This time it went from pinkish, reddish, purplish – almost like a plum and what a delicacy for any worm!
I will remember this Lunar Eclipse Slooh Star Party as one of the best. The presenters were awesome, the work produced by students for the Lunar Legends competition was outstanding and some so moving, that I had to wipe a few tears.
Of course I had to do the Quest!
(In South Africa the March Fullmoon is known as the Harvest Moon)

Penumbral Lunar Eclipse 2020.01.10

Posted on by July 20, 2021
annimation of Penumbral Lunar Eclipse

Click on animation

Will you come? Will you come?
Will you ride so late at my side?
O, will you come?

Will you come? Will you come?
If the night has a moon, full and bright?
O, will you come?

-Edward Thomas-

During a penumbral eclipse the darkening of the Moon as it drifts into the Earths penumbral shadow is so slight that most of the times I don’t go to the trouble of taking images. However I was not going to miss a live show on Slooh.

I used my images taken through Slooh’s Canary Two telescope for the animation.
Slooh granted me permission to use their Home Page layout as a backdrop.
©2020 Slooh LLC. All rights reserved

Total eclipse of the Moon

Posted on by July 20, 2021

I looked up at the Moon and knew that this evening would be my last public outreach event. From now on it will be only me and my telescope or camera. This sounds kind of depressing but when I’m alone under a star filled sky, finding new objects but never forgetting to look at the familiar ones as well,  I am at my happiest.

I will always remember this particular eclipse of 27 July 2018.
A dear friend has come to the end of his teaching career. I have come to the end of a most wonderful journey of bringing Astronomy to the public. I hope I have inspired many to look at the night sky and hope to continue but just in a different way.

This Moon is dedicated to all who are letting go of the old with a touch of sadness as they enter a new stage of life.

Total Eclipse-Feb 2008

Posted on by July 20, 2021

Polluted-eclipseThere is little to compare with the emotions evoked by a lunar eclipse. One can set out to witness one of these events with a group of friends or join a host of spectators on a hilltop lookout but I prefer to go solo.
On 21 February 2008 I packed my gear, camera, binocs, coffee, chocolates and…. coffee into my 1956 VW Beetle in which I felt least likely to be hi-jacked and headed for Blouberg Strand which has a magnificent view of Cape Town’s Table Mountain. Although I like solo, I felt a need to be close to other people just for safety’s sake.
The eclipse had been widely publicized and I was expecting a crowd of onlookers on the beach and on the balconies of apartments. It was past midnight and the beach was dark and deserted. It felt a little creepy. I parked in a parking bay opposite an apartment block where there was still some activity but one by one the shutters closed and the lights went out. This was extreme solo. After giving my details and reasons for being there to a security guy and chatting to a hooker who had just taken a drunk client back to his apartment, I settled in to prepare for the eclipse.
At 03:13 I noticed the first slight darkening towards the top right limb of the Moon. From then on it was just me on Mother Earth and she had all intention of casting her shadow on the Moon as they silently progressed in their respective orbits. My emotions started building up. I scanned through all the events of my life. My camera was set up with a remote shutter release and I just clicked away, adjusting exposures as the Moon darkened. At 03:43 I could see a definite shadow and the chapters of my life closed one by one. I glanced over my shoulder to see if someone in the apartment block had set an alarm clock.
At 04:55 with only a slither of bright Moon visible, I noticed a ruddiness creep over the whole surface of the Moon. I felt connected to all my friends, witnessing the event from other locations. The eclipsed part of the Moon turned a rusty orange. I do not think I have seen a more beautiful sight. The security car approached and the guy gave me a thumbs up. I acknowledged the gesture. It was almost daybreak and I headed home before the early morning traffic. Close to home I stopped and caught one last glimpse of the eclipsed Moon through heavy city pollution.