Re: PESO -- Cloudy Moon (was) Re: Total Lunar Eclipse

2015-09-28 Thread John 

It's a much better image than the best view I was able to see.

Looks kind of like Schiaparelli's Martian "canals".

On 9/27/2015 11:44 PM, P.J. Alling wrote:

I went out to try to shoot the Super Moon/Eclipse and I've given up on
the photography at least.  Not a total bust, but there seem to be high
clouds obscuring any detail.  I tried to use the SMC Pentax M*300mm
f4.0, my copy of which is a bit sharper than the A*300 I also have was
also a bust.  coupled with the 1.7x AF adapter the camera thought the
moon should be in focus but they all looked like the image I'm going to
post just because I tried.  It's not good, but I did make the attempt.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1604247/PESO/PESO%20--%20superbloodmoon.html


Equipment: Pentax K-5II w/vmc Vivitar Series 1 600mm Solid Catadioptric
f8.0 and smc Pentax F 1.7x AF Adapter.

Note:  There was so little light the K-5II just simply refused to try to
focus with the AF adapter and the Solid Cat lens mounted, I had to force
it to focus to infinity with a different lens then mount the camera onto
the Solid cat which was mounted on the tripod.  Lest anyone thing this
might be the reason for the bad focus, every shot with every lens
combination whether manual or auto focused looked pretty much like the
one posted, just smaller on the frame.  I do kind of like it as an
abstract, but I really wish that I had captured more detail.



On 9/22/2015 3:18 PM, Daniel J. Matyola wrote:

 From an email I received this afternoon:


Total Lunar Eclipse!

On the evening of September 27th, skywatchers throughout North America
will be treated to one of nature’s grandest celestial sky shows – a
total eclipse of the Moon. And unlike the one in April which occurred
in the early predawn hours, this one will happen during convenient
evening ones.

This cosmic spectacular begins with the full Moon entering the Earth’s
dark inner shadow (the “umbra”) at 9:06 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time and
continuing to become ever-more fully immersed in it for the next hour.
Totality itself will start at 10:11 p.m. EDT and last more than an
hour until 11:23 EDT, after which the Moon begins to slowly emerge
from the cone of darkness in reverse order. Adding to the beauty of
the overall scene at this eclipse (especially during totality itself,
while the sky is dark), the Moon will be accompanied by some of the
early rising bright winter stars. (Use your Scientifics’ Star and
Planet Locator to identify them)

There are several interesting things to notice as you watch this event
unfold. Most obvious are the darkness of the eclipsed Moon and the
range of colors displayed, both of which vary from one eclipse to
another. These depend on the clarity of the Earth’s atmosphere at the
time, which refracts or bends sunlight around into the umbral shadow.
There have actually been eclipses so dark that the Moon remained
all-but invisible during totality — and ones so pale that you had to
look carefully to see that there was even an eclipse in progress!
Among the colors that have been seen are shades of reddish-orange,
brown, copper, rose, and even blood-red. Notice, too, that the Earth’s
shadow is curved at all phases of the eclipse, as the Moon passes
through it. This is direct proof that the Earth itself is round —
something recognized by many early skywatchers. And finally, realize
that you’re actually seeing our lovely satellite move eastward in its
orbit — as it first passes into, through, and then out of the shadow
at roughly its own diameter each hour.

While lunar eclipses can certainly be enjoyed with the unaided eye
alone (as they have been throughout most of history!), they are
best-seen in binoculars. An ideal pair for this would be a 7×50 or
10×50 glass, the first number indicating its magnification and the
second the aperture in millimeters. Telescopes themselves, with their
relatively narrow fields of view, typically don’t provide enough sky
coverage around the Moon to get the full effect of its globe being
suspended in space. An exception here, however, is Scientifics’
amazing Astroscan wide-field reflecting telescope. Providing a
3-degree actual field of view at it low magnification of 16x, it takes
in an astounding six full-Moon-diameters of sky — something many have
described as looking through the porthole of a spaceship!

—James Mullaney
Former assistant editor at Sky & Telescope magazine and author of 10
books on stargazing.

Dan Matyola
http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/danieljmatyola






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Religion - Answers we must never question.

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Re: PESO -- Cloudy Moon (was) Re: Total Lunar Eclipse

2015-09-28 Thread Jack Davis 
Enjoyed "spending" the evening with
You pursuing the event, Knarf!
2033(?) may be a clear night. (G)

J

Sent from my iPhone

> On Sep 27, 2015, at 10:02 PM, Knarf  wrote:
> 
> I walked along the lake for about a 1/2 hour, hoping the light clouds would 
> lift, but they didn't. Gave up, went home. About midnight I brought the 
> garbage out and there it was: about 1/4 obscured by the earth's shadow.
> 
> Quite spectacular!
> 
> Like Ann, I don't have the equipment to do anything about it, but at least I 
> saw it. 'T'was pretty cool.
> 
> And earlier, after a significant dry spell, I got a few okay street shots 
> today. Can't wait to look at them on a big monitor and process a few...
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> frank
> 
>> On 27 September, 2015 11:59:12 PM EDT, ann sanfedele  
>> wrote:
>> LOvely to get to see the colors - glad you and Paul got us something 
>> anyway...
>> 
>> ann
>> 
>>> On 9/27/2015 11:44 PM, P.J. Alling wrote:
>>> I went out to try to shoot the Super Moon/Eclipse and I've given up
>> on 
>>> the photography at least.  Not a total bust, but there seem to be
>> high 
>>> clouds obscuring any detail.  I tried to use the SMC Pentax M*300mm 
>>> f4.0, my copy of which is a bit sharper than the A*300 I also have
>> was 
>>> also a bust.  coupled with the 1.7x AF adapter the camera thought the
>> 
>>> moon should be in focus but they all looked like the image I'm going 
>>> to post just because I tried.  It's not good, but I did make the
>> attempt.
>> https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1604247/PESO/PESO%20--%20superbloodmoon.html
>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Equipment: Pentax K-5II w/vmc Vivitar Series 1 600mm Solid 
>>> Catadioptric f8.0 and smc Pentax F 1.7x AF Adapter.
>>> 
>>> Note:  There was so little light the K-5II just simply refused to try
>> 
>>> to focus with the AF adapter and the Solid Cat lens mounted, I had to
>> 
>>> force it to focus to infinity with a different lens then mount the 
>>> camera onto the Solid cat which was mounted on the tripod.  Lest 
>>> anyone thing this might be the reason for the bad focus, every shot 
>>> with every lens combination whether manual or auto focused looked 
>>> pretty much like the one posted, just smaller on the frame.  I do
>> kind 
>>> of like it as an abstract, but I really wish that I had captured more
>> 
>>> detail.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
 On 9/22/2015 3:18 PM, Daniel J. Matyola wrote:
 From an email I received this afternoon:
 
 
 Total Lunar Eclipse!
 
 On the evening of September 27th, skywatchers throughout North
>> America
 will be treated to one of nature’s grandest celestial sky shows – a
 total eclipse of the Moon. And unlike the one in April which
>> occurred
 in the early predawn hours, this one will happen during convenient
 evening ones.
 
 This cosmic spectacular begins with the full Moon entering the
>> Earth’s
 dark inner shadow (the “umbra”) at 9:06 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time
>> and
 continuing to become ever-more fully immersed in it for the next
>> hour.
 Totality itself will start at 10:11 p.m. EDT and last more than an
 hour until 11:23 EDT, after which the Moon begins to slowly emerge
 from the cone of darkness in reverse order. Adding to the beauty of
 the overall scene at this eclipse (especially during totality
>> itself,
 while the sky is dark), the Moon will be accompanied by some of the
 early rising bright winter stars. (Use your Scientifics’ Star and
 Planet Locator to identify them)
 
 There are several interesting things to notice as you watch this
>> event
 unfold. Most obvious are the darkness of the eclipsed Moon and the
 range of colors displayed, both of which vary from one eclipse to
 another. These depend on the clarity of the Earth’s atmosphere at
>> the
 time, which refracts or bends sunlight around into the umbral
>> shadow.
 There have actually been eclipses so dark that the Moon remained
 all-but invisible during totality — and ones so pale that you had to
 look carefully to see that there was even an eclipse in progress!
 Among the colors that have been seen are shades of reddish-orange,
 brown, copper, rose, and even blood-red. Notice, too, that the
>> Earth’s
 shadow is curved at all phases of the eclipse, as the Moon passes
 through it. This is direct proof that the Earth itself is round —
 something recognized by many early skywatchers. And finally, realize
 that you’re actually seeing our lovely satellite move eastward in
>> its
 orbit — as it first passes into, through, and then out of the shadow
 at roughly its own diameter each hour.
 
 While lunar eclipses can certainly be enjoyed with the unaided eye
 alone (as they have been throughout most of history!), they are
 best-seen in binoculars. An ideal pair for this would be a 7×50 or
 10×50 glass, the first number indicating its

Re: PESO -- Cloudy Moon (was) Re: Total Lunar Eclipse

2015-09-28 Thread ann sanfedele 
ActuallY I saw it for about 45 minutes ... but no colors.. up to where 
it became a very thin ")" - I did make anattempt with the 55-300
but using my dressmaker dummy as a tripod and I'msure all I got ws a 
fuzzy cresent .. then the clouds rolled in..


saw a faint glimmer of reddish color around 11 but no shape.. but on the 
local news this morning I saw some neat shots locals got from
different vantage points than mine... although not far - I probably 
should have stayed by the bedroomwindow - wasn't up to going to the roof
it gets a little difficult to navigate for me these days. Bummer... I 
saw the last oneat least.  18 years... to the next one.. if I get to 96

I'll probably need someone to hold my head up

ann

On 9/28/2015 1:02 AM, Knarf wrote:

I walked along the lake for about a 1/2 hour, hoping the light clouds would 
lift, but they didn't. Gave up, went home. About midnight I brought the garbage 
out and there it was: about 1/4 obscured by the earth's shadow.

Quite spectacular!

Like Ann, I don't have the equipment to do anything about it, but at least I 
saw it. 'T'was pretty cool.

And earlier, after a significant dry spell, I got a few okay street shots 
today. Can't wait to look at them on a big monitor and process a few...

Cheers,

frank

On 27 September, 2015 11:59:12 PM EDT, ann sanfedele  wrote:

LOvely to get to see the colors - glad you and Paul got us something
anyway...

ann

On 9/27/2015 11:44 PM, P.J. Alling wrote:

I went out to try to shoot the Super Moon/Eclipse and I've given up

on

the photography at least.  Not a total bust, but there seem to be

high

clouds obscuring any detail.  I tried to use the SMC Pentax M*300mm
f4.0, my copy of which is a bit sharper than the A*300 I also have

was

also a bust.  coupled with the 1.7x AF adapter the camera thought the
moon should be in focus but they all looked like the image I'm going
to post just because I tried.  It's not good, but I did make the

attempt.



https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1604247/PESO/PESO%20--%20superbloodmoon.html



Equipment: Pentax K-5II w/vmc Vivitar Series 1 600mm Solid
Catadioptric f8.0 and smc Pentax F 1.7x AF Adapter.

Note:  There was so little light the K-5II just simply refused to try
to focus with the AF adapter and the Solid Cat lens mounted, I had to
force it to focus to infinity with a different lens then mount the
camera onto the Solid cat which was mounted on the tripod.  Lest
anyone thing this might be the reason for the bad focus, every shot
with every lens combination whether manual or auto focused looked
pretty much like the one posted, just smaller on the frame.  I do

kind

of like it as an abstract, but I really wish that I had captured more
detail.



On 9/22/2015 3:18 PM, Daniel J. Matyola wrote:

  From an email I received this afternoon:


Total Lunar Eclipse!

On the evening of September 27th, skywatchers throughout North

America

will be treated to one of nature’s grandest celestial sky shows – a
total eclipse of the Moon. And unlike the one in April which

occurred

in the early predawn hours, this one will happen during convenient
evening ones.

This cosmic spectacular begins with the full Moon entering the

Earth’s

dark inner shadow (the “umbra”) at 9:06 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time

and

continuing to become ever-more fully immersed in it for the next

hour.

Totality itself will start at 10:11 p.m. EDT and last more than an
hour until 11:23 EDT, after which the Moon begins to slowly emerge
from the cone of darkness in reverse order. Adding to the beauty of
the overall scene at this eclipse (especially during totality

itself,

while the sky is dark), the Moon will be accompanied by some of the
early rising bright winter stars. (Use your Scientifics’ Star and
Planet Locator to identify them)

There are several interesting things to notice as you watch this

event

unfold. Most obvious are the darkness of the eclipsed Moon and the
range of colors displayed, both of which vary from one eclipse to
another. These depend on the clarity of the Earth’s atmosphere at

the

time, which refracts or bends sunlight around into the umbral

shadow.

There have actually been eclipses so dark that the Moon remained
all-but invisible during totality — and ones so pale that you had to
look carefully to see that there was even an eclipse in progress!
Among the colors that have been seen are shades of reddish-orange,
brown, copper, rose, and even blood-red. Notice, too, that the

Earth’s

shadow is curved at all phases of the eclipse, as the Moon passes
through it. This is direct proof that the Earth itself is round —
something recognized by many early skywatchers. And finally, realize
that you’re actually seeing our lovely satellite move eastward in

its

orbit — as it first passes into, through, and then out of the shadow
at roughly its own diameter each hour.

While lunar eclipses can certainly be enjoyed with the unaided eye
alone (as they have been throughout most

Re: PESO -- Cloudy Moon (was) Re: Total Lunar Eclipse

2015-09-28 Thread Jack Davis 
I went to bed at my usual 8:00 PM and left the shooting up to you young folks.
I may try it in 2033. ;o)

J

- Original Message -
From: "ann sanfedele" <ann...@nyc.rr.com>
To: "Pentax-Discuss Mail List" <pdml@pdml.net>
Sent: Monday, September 28, 2015 6:37:56 AM
Subject: Re: PESO -- Cloudy Moon (was) Re: Total Lunar Eclipse

ActuallY I saw it for about 45 minutes ... but no colors.. up to where 
it became a very thin ")" - I did make anattempt with the 55-300
but using my dressmaker dummy as a tripod and I'msure all I got ws a 
fuzzy cresent .. then the clouds rolled in..

saw a faint glimmer of reddish color around 11 but no shape.. but on the 
local news this morning I saw some neat shots locals got from
different vantage points than mine... although not far - I probably 
should have stayed by the bedroomwindow - wasn't up to going to the roof
it gets a little difficult to navigate for me these days. Bummer... I 
saw the last oneat least.  18 years... to the next one.. if I get to 96
I'll probably need someone to hold my head up

ann

On 9/28/2015 1:02 AM, Knarf wrote:
> I walked along the lake for about a 1/2 hour, hoping the light clouds would 
> lift, but they didn't. Gave up, went home. About midnight I brought the 
> garbage out and there it was: about 1/4 obscured by the earth's shadow.
>
> Quite spectacular!
>
> Like Ann, I don't have the equipment to do anything about it, but at least I 
> saw it. 'T'was pretty cool.
>
> And earlier, after a significant dry spell, I got a few okay street shots 
> today. Can't wait to look at them on a big monitor and process a few...
>
> Cheers,
>
> frank
>
> On 27 September, 2015 11:59:12 PM EDT, ann sanfedele <ann...@nyc.rr.com> 
> wrote:
>> LOvely to get to see the colors - glad you and Paul got us something
>> anyway...
>>
>> ann
>>
>> On 9/27/2015 11:44 PM, P.J. Alling wrote:
>>> I went out to try to shoot the Super Moon/Eclipse and I've given up
>> on
>>> the photography at least.  Not a total bust, but there seem to be
>> high
>>> clouds obscuring any detail.  I tried to use the SMC Pentax M*300mm
>>> f4.0, my copy of which is a bit sharper than the A*300 I also have
>> was
>>> also a bust.  coupled with the 1.7x AF adapter the camera thought the
>>> moon should be in focus but they all looked like the image I'm going
>>> to post just because I tried.  It's not good, but I did make the
>> attempt.
>>>
>> https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1604247/PESO/PESO%20--%20superbloodmoon.html
>>
>>>
>>> Equipment: Pentax K-5II w/vmc Vivitar Series 1 600mm Solid
>>> Catadioptric f8.0 and smc Pentax F 1.7x AF Adapter.
>>>
>>> Note:  There was so little light the K-5II just simply refused to try
>>> to focus with the AF adapter and the Solid Cat lens mounted, I had to
>>> force it to focus to infinity with a different lens then mount the
>>> camera onto the Solid cat which was mounted on the tripod.  Lest
>>> anyone thing this might be the reason for the bad focus, every shot
>>> with every lens combination whether manual or auto focused looked
>>> pretty much like the one posted, just smaller on the frame.  I do
>> kind
>>> of like it as an abstract, but I really wish that I had captured more
>>> detail.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On 9/22/2015 3:18 PM, Daniel J. Matyola wrote:
>>>>   From an email I received this afternoon:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Total Lunar Eclipse!
>>>>
>>>> On the evening of September 27th, skywatchers throughout North
>> America
>>>> will be treated to one of nature’s grandest celestial sky shows – a
>>>> total eclipse of the Moon. And unlike the one in April which
>> occurred
>>>> in the early predawn hours, this one will happen during convenient
>>>> evening ones.
>>>>
>>>> This cosmic spectacular begins with the full Moon entering the
>> Earth’s
>>>> dark inner shadow (the “umbra”) at 9:06 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time
>> and
>>>> continuing to become ever-more fully immersed in it for the next
>> hour.
>>>> Totality itself will start at 10:11 p.m. EDT and last more than an
>>>> hour until 11:23 EDT, after which the Moon begins to slowly emerge
>>>> from the cone of darkness in reverse order. Adding to the beauty of
>>>> the overall scene at this eclipse (especially during totality
>> itself,
>>>> while the sky is dark), the Moon will be accompanied by some of the
>>>> early rising bright

Re: PESO -- Cloudy Moon (was) Re: Total Lunar Eclipse

2015-09-27 Thread Knarf 
I walked along the lake for about a 1/2 hour, hoping the light clouds would 
lift, but they didn't. Gave up, went home. About midnight I brought the garbage 
out and there it was: about 1/4 obscured by the earth's shadow.

Quite spectacular!

Like Ann, I don't have the equipment to do anything about it, but at least I 
saw it. 'T'was pretty cool.

And earlier, after a significant dry spell, I got a few okay street shots 
today. Can't wait to look at them on a big monitor and process a few...

Cheers,

frank

On 27 September, 2015 11:59:12 PM EDT, ann sanfedele  wrote:
>LOvely to get to see the colors - glad you and Paul got us something 
>anyway...
>
>ann
>
>On 9/27/2015 11:44 PM, P.J. Alling wrote:
>> I went out to try to shoot the Super Moon/Eclipse and I've given up
>on 
>> the photography at least.  Not a total bust, but there seem to be
>high 
>> clouds obscuring any detail.  I tried to use the SMC Pentax M*300mm 
>> f4.0, my copy of which is a bit sharper than the A*300 I also have
>was 
>> also a bust.  coupled with the 1.7x AF adapter the camera thought the
>
>> moon should be in focus but they all looked like the image I'm going 
>> to post just because I tried.  It's not good, but I did make the
>attempt.
>>
>>
>https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1604247/PESO/PESO%20--%20superbloodmoon.html
>
>>
>>
>> Equipment: Pentax K-5II w/vmc Vivitar Series 1 600mm Solid 
>> Catadioptric f8.0 and smc Pentax F 1.7x AF Adapter.
>>
>> Note:  There was so little light the K-5II just simply refused to try
>
>> to focus with the AF adapter and the Solid Cat lens mounted, I had to
>
>> force it to focus to infinity with a different lens then mount the 
>> camera onto the Solid cat which was mounted on the tripod.  Lest 
>> anyone thing this might be the reason for the bad focus, every shot 
>> with every lens combination whether manual or auto focused looked 
>> pretty much like the one posted, just smaller on the frame.  I do
>kind 
>> of like it as an abstract, but I really wish that I had captured more
>
>> detail.
>>
>>
>>
>> On 9/22/2015 3:18 PM, Daniel J. Matyola wrote:
>>>  From an email I received this afternoon:
>>>
>>>
>>> Total Lunar Eclipse!
>>>
>>> On the evening of September 27th, skywatchers throughout North
>America
>>> will be treated to one of nature’s grandest celestial sky shows – a
>>> total eclipse of the Moon. And unlike the one in April which
>occurred
>>> in the early predawn hours, this one will happen during convenient
>>> evening ones.
>>>
>>> This cosmic spectacular begins with the full Moon entering the
>Earth’s
>>> dark inner shadow (the “umbra”) at 9:06 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time
>and
>>> continuing to become ever-more fully immersed in it for the next
>hour.
>>> Totality itself will start at 10:11 p.m. EDT and last more than an
>>> hour until 11:23 EDT, after which the Moon begins to slowly emerge
>>> from the cone of darkness in reverse order. Adding to the beauty of
>>> the overall scene at this eclipse (especially during totality
>itself,
>>> while the sky is dark), the Moon will be accompanied by some of the
>>> early rising bright winter stars. (Use your Scientifics’ Star and
>>> Planet Locator to identify them)
>>>
>>> There are several interesting things to notice as you watch this
>event
>>> unfold. Most obvious are the darkness of the eclipsed Moon and the
>>> range of colors displayed, both of which vary from one eclipse to
>>> another. These depend on the clarity of the Earth’s atmosphere at
>the
>>> time, which refracts or bends sunlight around into the umbral
>shadow.
>>> There have actually been eclipses so dark that the Moon remained
>>> all-but invisible during totality — and ones so pale that you had to
>>> look carefully to see that there was even an eclipse in progress!
>>> Among the colors that have been seen are shades of reddish-orange,
>>> brown, copper, rose, and even blood-red. Notice, too, that the
>Earth’s
>>> shadow is curved at all phases of the eclipse, as the Moon passes
>>> through it. This is direct proof that the Earth itself is round —
>>> something recognized by many early skywatchers. And finally, realize
>>> that you’re actually seeing our lovely satellite move eastward in
>its
>>> orbit — as it first passes into, through, and then out of the shadow
>>> at roughly its own diameter each hour.
>>>
>>> While lunar eclipses can certainly be enjoyed with the unaided eye
>>> alone (as they have been throughout most of history!), they are
>>> best-seen in binoculars. An ideal pair for this would be a 7×50 or
>>> 10×50 glass, the first number indicating its magnification and the
>>> second the aperture in millimeters. Telescopes themselves, with
>their
>>> relatively narrow fields of view, typically don’t provide enough sky
>>> coverage around the Moon to get the full effect of its globe being
>>> suspended in space. An exception here, however, is Scientifics’
>>> amazing Astroscan wide-field reflecting telescope. Providing a
>>>

Re: PESO -- Cloudy Moon (was) Re: Total Lunar Eclipse

2015-09-27 Thread ann sanfedele 
LOvely to get to see the colors - glad you and Paul got us something 
anyway...


ann

On 9/27/2015 11:44 PM, P.J. Alling wrote:
I went out to try to shoot the Super Moon/Eclipse and I've given up on 
the photography at least.  Not a total bust, but there seem to be high 
clouds obscuring any detail.  I tried to use the SMC Pentax M*300mm 
f4.0, my copy of which is a bit sharper than the A*300 I also have was 
also a bust.  coupled with the 1.7x AF adapter the camera thought the 
moon should be in focus but they all looked like the image I'm going 
to post just because I tried.  It's not good, but I did make the attempt.


https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1604247/PESO/PESO%20--%20superbloodmoon.html 



Equipment: Pentax K-5II w/vmc Vivitar Series 1 600mm Solid 
Catadioptric f8.0 and smc Pentax F 1.7x AF Adapter.


Note:  There was so little light the K-5II just simply refused to try 
to focus with the AF adapter and the Solid Cat lens mounted, I had to 
force it to focus to infinity with a different lens then mount the 
camera onto the Solid cat which was mounted on the tripod.  Lest 
anyone thing this might be the reason for the bad focus, every shot 
with every lens combination whether manual or auto focused looked 
pretty much like the one posted, just smaller on the frame.  I do kind 
of like it as an abstract, but I really wish that I had captured more 
detail.




On 9/22/2015 3:18 PM, Daniel J. Matyola wrote:

 From an email I received this afternoon:


Total Lunar Eclipse!

On the evening of September 27th, skywatchers throughout North America
will be treated to one of nature’s grandest celestial sky shows – a
total eclipse of the Moon. And unlike the one in April which occurred
in the early predawn hours, this one will happen during convenient
evening ones.

This cosmic spectacular begins with the full Moon entering the Earth’s
dark inner shadow (the “umbra”) at 9:06 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time and
continuing to become ever-more fully immersed in it for the next hour.
Totality itself will start at 10:11 p.m. EDT and last more than an
hour until 11:23 EDT, after which the Moon begins to slowly emerge
from the cone of darkness in reverse order. Adding to the beauty of
the overall scene at this eclipse (especially during totality itself,
while the sky is dark), the Moon will be accompanied by some of the
early rising bright winter stars. (Use your Scientifics’ Star and
Planet Locator to identify them)

There are several interesting things to notice as you watch this event
unfold. Most obvious are the darkness of the eclipsed Moon and the
range of colors displayed, both of which vary from one eclipse to
another. These depend on the clarity of the Earth’s atmosphere at the
time, which refracts or bends sunlight around into the umbral shadow.
There have actually been eclipses so dark that the Moon remained
all-but invisible during totality — and ones so pale that you had to
look carefully to see that there was even an eclipse in progress!
Among the colors that have been seen are shades of reddish-orange,
brown, copper, rose, and even blood-red. Notice, too, that the Earth’s
shadow is curved at all phases of the eclipse, as the Moon passes
through it. This is direct proof that the Earth itself is round —
something recognized by many early skywatchers. And finally, realize
that you’re actually seeing our lovely satellite move eastward in its
orbit — as it first passes into, through, and then out of the shadow
at roughly its own diameter each hour.

While lunar eclipses can certainly be enjoyed with the unaided eye
alone (as they have been throughout most of history!), they are
best-seen in binoculars. An ideal pair for this would be a 7×50 or
10×50 glass, the first number indicating its magnification and the
second the aperture in millimeters. Telescopes themselves, with their
relatively narrow fields of view, typically don’t provide enough sky
coverage around the Moon to get the full effect of its globe being
suspended in space. An exception here, however, is Scientifics’
amazing Astroscan wide-field reflecting telescope. Providing a
3-degree actual field of view at it low magnification of 16x, it takes
in an astounding six full-Moon-diameters of sky — something many have
described as looking through the porthole of a spaceship!

—James Mullaney
Former assistant editor at Sky & Telescope magazine and author of 10
books on stargazing.

Dan Matyola
http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/danieljmatyola







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PESO -- Cloudy Moon (was) Re: Total Lunar Eclipse

2015-09-27 Thread P.J. Alling 
I went out to try to shoot the Super Moon/Eclipse and I've given up on 
the photography at least.  Not a total bust, but there seem to be high 
clouds obscuring any detail.  I tried to use the SMC Pentax M*300mm 
f4.0, my copy of which is a bit sharper than the A*300 I also have was 
also a bust.  coupled with the 1.7x AF adapter the camera thought the 
moon should be in focus but they all looked like the image I'm going to 
post just because I tried.  It's not good, but I did make the attempt.


https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1604247/PESO/PESO%20--%20superbloodmoon.html

Equipment: Pentax K-5II w/vmc Vivitar Series 1 600mm Solid Catadioptric 
f8.0 and smc Pentax F 1.7x AF Adapter.


Note:  There was so little light the K-5II just simply refused to try to 
focus with the AF adapter and the Solid Cat lens mounted, I had to force 
it to focus to infinity with a different lens then mount the camera onto 
the Solid cat which was mounted on the tripod.  Lest anyone thing this 
might be the reason for the bad focus, every shot with every lens 
combination whether manual or auto focused looked pretty much like the 
one posted, just smaller on the frame.  I do kind of like it as an 
abstract, but I really wish that I had captured more detail.




On 9/22/2015 3:18 PM, Daniel J. Matyola wrote:

 From an email I received this afternoon:


Total Lunar Eclipse!

On the evening of September 27th, skywatchers throughout North America
will be treated to one of nature’s grandest celestial sky shows – a
total eclipse of the Moon. And unlike the one in April which occurred
in the early predawn hours, this one will happen during convenient
evening ones.

This cosmic spectacular begins with the full Moon entering the Earth’s
dark inner shadow (the “umbra”) at 9:06 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time and
continuing to become ever-more fully immersed in it for the next hour.
Totality itself will start at 10:11 p.m. EDT and last more than an
hour until 11:23 EDT, after which the Moon begins to slowly emerge
from the cone of darkness in reverse order. Adding to the beauty of
the overall scene at this eclipse (especially during totality itself,
while the sky is dark), the Moon will be accompanied by some of the
early rising bright winter stars. (Use your Scientifics’ Star and
Planet Locator to identify them)

There are several interesting things to notice as you watch this event
unfold. Most obvious are the darkness of the eclipsed Moon and the
range of colors displayed, both of which vary from one eclipse to
another. These depend on the clarity of the Earth’s atmosphere at the
time, which refracts or bends sunlight around into the umbral shadow.
There have actually been eclipses so dark that the Moon remained
all-but invisible during totality — and ones so pale that you had to
look carefully to see that there was even an eclipse in progress!
Among the colors that have been seen are shades of reddish-orange,
brown, copper, rose, and even blood-red. Notice, too, that the Earth’s
shadow is curved at all phases of the eclipse, as the Moon passes
through it. This is direct proof that the Earth itself is round —
something recognized by many early skywatchers. And finally, realize
that you’re actually seeing our lovely satellite move eastward in its
orbit — as it first passes into, through, and then out of the shadow
at roughly its own diameter each hour.

While lunar eclipses can certainly be enjoyed with the unaided eye
alone (as they have been throughout most of history!), they are
best-seen in binoculars. An ideal pair for this would be a 7×50 or
10×50 glass, the first number indicating its magnification and the
second the aperture in millimeters. Telescopes themselves, with their
relatively narrow fields of view, typically don’t provide enough sky
coverage around the Moon to get the full effect of its globe being
suspended in space. An exception here, however, is Scientifics’
amazing Astroscan wide-field reflecting telescope. Providing a
3-degree actual field of view at it low magnification of 16x, it takes
in an astounding six full-Moon-diameters of sky — something many have
described as looking through the porthole of a spaceship!

—James Mullaney
Former assistant editor at Sky & Telescope magazine and author of 10
books on stargazing.

Dan Matyola
http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/danieljmatyola




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I don't want to achieve immortality through my work; I want to achieve 
immortality through not dying.
-- Woody Allen


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