Super Flower Blood Moon at Maximum Eclipse; captured from Colorado Springs, 15 May 2022 at 2211MDT
Super Flower Blood Moon – Colorado Springs – May 2022
Fun facts
The total lunar eclipse of 15-16May 2022 was named the Super Flower Blood Moon. May I have another name, please? The Farmer’s Almanac explains all the reasons for the name(s), paraphrasing that article, here is the short answer: A supermoon is most commonly defined as any full Moon that occurs when the Moon is at at least 90% of perigee (the point in the Moon’s orbit where it is closest to Earth); Flower Moon because flowers spring forth across North America in abundance this month; and a lunar eclipse occurs when Earth stands directly between the Moon and the Sun, which results in Earth casting its shadow on the Moon. During a total lunar eclipse, the Moon is fully obscured by Earth’s shadow, giving the Moon a reddish hue. This phenomenon is where the term “blood moon” comes from.
{Full description in Farmers Almanac at: https://www.almanac.com/full-moon-may}
Equipment
Polar alignment: QHYCCD camera (controlled by Polemaster)
Imaging stream: Orion 8″ f/8 Ritchey-Chretien Astrograph Telescope (a.k.a. Big Bertha (BB)); Canon EOS Ra (controlled with EQASCOM driver)
All equipment controlled by HP Probook running Astro Photography Tool (APT) v 3.87.9.2
Capture & processing notes
We had a bit of a slow start to the night observing the eclipse – P1 started before the moon rose. Then when it did rise (1955MDT) it was in a cloud bank until it finally peaked through at 2110MDT (well into U1). From then until about 0040MDT on 16May, I captured 455 images
Sequence plan: Sequence plan built in APT for and within each change of lunar state, but like most plans, it didn’t stand up to first contact with the real eclipsed moon…so the image capture was a “real time” adjustment to exposure throughout the night as the lighting changed. All taken at ISO400, exposure length ranged from 1/500 second in U4 to 30 seconds during maximum.
Capture: 15May2022, 2110MDT – 16May2022, 0037MDT
Shooting location: Colorado Springs, Colorado
Processing: Processed in Lightroom
