Science 15

Science at Parramatta High
Another Lunar Eclipse over Parramatta
— July 16 2000 —

Here is a wide-field view at totality

Move your mouse cursor over the image to view a legend.
More information below.

Most observers will agree that the most stunning aspect of a lunar eclipse such as this one is not, as you would expect, the blood-red colour of the moon at totality. Rather, it is the appearance of the stars in such close proximity to the "full" moon.

Here we see a wide-field view of the scene, taken at about 11:30pm local. The constellations Scorpius, Ophiuchus (not labelled), Corona Australis, Sagittarius and Capricornus are all visible - at least partially.

The exposure was 30 seconds, 400 ASA, 28mm lens at f2.8

The diagonal streaks in the sky are clouds.

Continuing this theme, you can click here to view Scorpius, taken two weeks later when the moon was new (and out of the way!)

The classical illustrations of the constellations are derived from Johannis Hevelii's 1690 work, "Uranographia" The images have been reversed to suit our more conventional orientation. (Uranographia represented the constellations as they would be seen by a celestial observer, looking back at Earth.)

Back to the eclipse gallery.
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On to Saturn, Jupiter, or the moon, in much more detail.