Dusk to Dawn, 2nd Edition, 2nd Edition

11 Photographing Lunar Eclipses

A total lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes through Earth’s shadow. That bland description utterly fails to do justice to this rare and spectacular event. Although astronomers can predict lunar eclipses accurately, there’s no visible sign that one is about to begin. Sometimes the eclipse begins when the moon, which must be full, is riding high in the sky. At other times, the moon is already partially eclipsed when it rises. The first visible sign that an eclipse is beginning is a semi-circular notch that appears in the edge of the moon, as if some celestial Cookie Monster had taken a bite out of it. The notch grows until only a thin, crescent-shaped sliver of the moon is still lit. Then totality begins, ...