Total Lunar Eclipse of November 8, 2003 (EST)

We observed the eclipse from the roof of our apartment complex. Until just after totality, the sky in the DC area was absolutely clear. High, thin clouds moved in shortly after totality. Some simple photographs were attempted with my digital camera.

This picture was taken with my Pentax Optio 550 digital point & shoot camera through a Vixen 90 mm refractor. Simple eyepiece projection was used.  The camera was on a tripod and aimed (lens and all) through the 25 mm eyepiece. The automatic exposure time was 1/20" at f/4.5, with the camera lens zoomed all the way out (37 mm equivalent focal length for a 35 mm camera). No image processing was done other than cropping and reducing the image size from its native 5 megapixel format. The time of the exposure was 19:15 EST.

A montage of pictures taken with the Pentax Optio 550 during the eclipse. The zoom was maximum (187 mm equivalent in 35 mm format). The pictures were cut and pasted into a single image in Photoshop. The positions and orientation of the moon in the montage are not the true relative positions of the moon during the eclipse. From bottom left to top right, the time (EST) and exposures are: 1/60" @ f/7.7 at 18:10, 18:43, and 19:02; and 4" @ f/7.7 at 19:35, 19:54, and 20:14.