Very early on Saturday morning, Earth was treated to the longest total lunar eclipse of the century, and I was stoked to take advantage of this night sky photo opportunity without haze or constant cloud cover or high rise buildings getting in the way! Mars was also in conjunction with the moon and at opposition, making its closest approach to Earth in 15 years. I missed the first part of the eclipse, because the 2-year-old wouldn't let me leave her bedside until 5am, and I blame the unusual night wakings earlier that week on the full moon, the eclipse and Mars at opposition - it's like the moon and the planets were lined up to make my life slightly miserable that week. Ok, I'm only joking, but a small part of me does wonder if there's any scientific truth to that because on Saturday night, the toddler resumed back to sleeping through the night. I used my ancient
13-year-old DSLR - back when it cost over AU$1000 for one - and was happy to know that it still works alright.
The progression of the total lunar eclipse, with totality lasting 103 minutes, making it the longest total lunar eclipse of the 21st century:
Mars at opposition and in conjunction with the moon:
The moon was still in total eclipse when the sky began lightening as day began to break:
The next day, on Sunday morning, the kids were so excited and happy to see a full double rainbow in the backyard when they came downstairs for breakfast. And yes, I stood in the drizzle in the backyard to take the photo.
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