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Picture of the day -
February 22, 2008
The February 20, 2008 Total Lunar Eclipse
Photo courtesy of
Winston Rockwell.
If you happened to miss Wednesday night's total
lunar eclipse,
today's outstanding picture by photographer Winston Rockwell offers
you an opportunity to see what it looked like. Here is his rather
interesting story
behind the image:
"The slow progression from "normal" full moon to a ruddy sphere and
back takes the better part of two hours, and without the benefit of
time lapse or multiple-exposure photos, it's hard to appreciate the
stately ballet being performed by the celestial bodies, but to those
who've never seen the earth's shadow pass across the moon, it's an
amazing thing. Small wonder that even as late as medieval times,
people thought an eclipse was an omen, a sign from the gods.
Today,
we know it's nothing so mysterious and portentous as that,
but it's
still an event that turns our eyes to the heavens in wonder
and
amazement.
This photo was taken at the end of the period of complete eclipse,
known as "totality", just as the light began to creep over the
horizon
and spread once more across the lunar surface. I took the
shot from
my driveway, using a Canon 40D on a tripod, with a Canon
100-400L
lens at 400mm. Exposure was 1.6 seconds at f/9."
--Winston Rockwell
Eclipses have both fascinated and frightened human beings for
thousands of years, and they still do today. Thanks to Mr. Rockwell
and countless other photographers around the globe, we'll be able to
enjoy this one for many years to come!
Visitor Comments...
Name: Glen Rouse
Town: Jonesborough, TN
Great picture!
I have tried to take pictures of the moon with little success and
this picture shows me how beautiful the result can be (when taken by
a real photographer).
Click here to comment on this
picture.
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