Moon Photo Info

All photos taken in February 2008, using a Canon EOS 400D Digital SLR with a Tamron 28-300mm AF XR Di zoom lens. The pictures are shown as actual pixels and are therefore as large as could be made before losing clarity due to pixellation.

On the night of the eclipse it was misty and there was some thin cloud, hence the full and eclipse pictures are soft focus. At the onset of the eclipse there was regular passing cloud of varying thickness with the moon obscured for much of the time. I checked again just before totality and luckily there was a 15 minute window where the moon was visible, albeit in a watery state. Once totality had begun, the moon was not bright enough to shine through the cloud and was invisible. After totality was over the cloud had thickened up again and the moon was just visible as a fuzzy blob of light at best.

I had forgotten to set the zoom to maximum for the eclipse pictures themselves, but this oversight was fortunate in that the wider field enabled Regulus to be in the shot, as well as the aeroplane. Due to the mist Regulus was not visible until I downloaded the picture. The moving mist accounts for the wobble on the light trail of the aeroplane.

Typical of UK viewing: many clear nights before, but cloudy on the night itself. I may eventually complete a set of phases but this would mean collating them from many lunar orbits as it is unlikely to get 28 consecutive clear nights in the UK.

Location:  52° 09' 03.62" N   0° 26' 13.59" W   Elev. 36m/118ft.   aka: my back garden