We've been planning for this night for a long time. The 2010 Winter Solstice Lunar Eclipse. In fact, I intentionally scheduled myself off of work for this night. So, when the clouds started building, and the radar looking too vibrantly colored I was a little more than disappointed. We had hoped to join our TAAA friends at one of the club's dark sky sites (TIMPA), but decided that it just wasn't worth the drive over the mountains to get there with a cloudy sky. All the same, we continued to poke our heads out the back door to peek at the moon as the time drew near. Lo and behold! "Sucker holes"! "Sucker holes" are those breaks in the clouds where you can see 'some' stars, but you still have mostly cloud cover. If we were in Illinois we'd be thrilled to have a few of those to get a glimpse of the eclipse; being in Arizona we expect clear skies. Clouds were not in our plans! However, since we were seeing a bit of 'hope' I grabbed my camera while Dean went for the tripod. There's a distinct advantage when it comes to being married to someone who is SO good at what he does, I have to admit that up front. Dean set me up with a great tripod and a Meade 80mm, f6 (480mm focal length) lens/telescope for a lens to shoot through. Yes, some of the time I was shooting through clouds, but the results speak for themselves!
We've been planning for this night for a long time. The 2010 Winter Solstice Lunar Eclipse. In fact, I intentionally scheduled myself off of work for this night. So, when the clouds started building, and the radar looking too vibrantly colored I was a little more than disappointed. We had hoped to join our TAAA friends at one of the club's dark sky sites (TIMPA), but decided that it just wasn't worth the drive over the mountains to get there with a cloudy sky. All the same, we continued to poke our heads out the back door to peek at the moon as the time drew near. Lo and behold! "Sucker holes"! "Sucker holes" are those breaks in the clouds where you can see 'some' stars, but you still have mostly cloud cover. If we were in Illinois we'd be thrilled to have a few of those to get a glimpse of the eclipse; being in Arizona we expect clear skies. Clouds were not in our plans! However, since we were seeing a bit of 'hope' I grabbed my camera while Dean went for the tripod. There's a distinct advantage when it comes to being married to someone who is SO good at what he does, I have to admit that up front. Dean set me up with a great tripod and a Meade 80mm, f6 (480mm focal length) lens/telescope for a lens to shoot through. Yes, some of the time I was shooting through clouds, but the results speak for themselves!
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4 comments:
Great images, Dean and Melinda!
I am happy that you had the chance to see the eclipse.
With all the activities in the past days going on in Tucson, how about a setting total lunar eclipse right behind Kitt Peak? :-)
OK, I am too lazy to figure out when this will happen the next time...
Bravo Melinda and Dean! great shots despite the clouds. Now all we have to do is wait till 2014 for the next one! :-)
At least you had sucker holes! I could see the glow in the clouds and almost a shape. But nothing opened throughout totality. So, I must be satisfied with the photos of others.
I'm so glad you posted this. We totally missed it due to snow clouds and can't get a video to load up on the computer. The kids will be THRILLED to see this! Chooj keeps asking if we're going to watch the moon disappear ever since.
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