Blood Moon Total Eclipse DEVA May 26th

[DeathValleyDazed]

I'm hoping that someone in our community will be able to witness and photograph May 26th's glorious blood moon total lunar eclipse from my favorite national park because I will not be visiting the park until this Fall at the soonest. 

https://youtu.be/ZQgikx-9_60

[John Morrow]

I'm hoping that someone in our community will be able to witness and photograph May 26th's glorious blood moon total lunar eclipse from my favorite national park because I will not be visiting the park until this Fall at the soonest. 

https://youtu.be/ZQgikx-9_60

A great place to set up to view it is on Dante's Peak or further out towards Perry (depending on what time the eclipse is).  The moonlight is plenty to walk the trail back.  I caught a Supermoon rise from the trail in Nov of 2016



Super Mooonrise! Dante's View Peak by John Morrow, on Flickr

[trailhound]

Check out this web site to get the eclipse time for your location:

https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/map/2021-may-26

For Furnace Creek, totality begins at 4:11AM PDT, peaks at 4:18AM, and ends at 4:25AM.  The moon sets at 5:41AM.

At peak eclipse, the moon will be in the southwest part of the sky on a bearing of 229 degrees.  The moon will be 14 degrees above the horizon.  You will need a location with a clear view to the southwest going down to the horizon.

I don't know how well a smartphone or point-and-shoot camera will capture this event. If possible, use a camera with a telephoto or zoom lens.  Manual exposure and manual focus will work best here.  Increase the ISO to 1600 (or higher if your camera still produces decent pictures) to keep exposure times to around 1 second or shorter. A tripod is mandatory. Avoid pressing the shutter button to minimize shake. Use a wired or bluetooth release. Lacking those, set the self-timer for a short delay.

Good luck and please post pictures.

[John Morrow]

Check out this web site to get the eclipse time for your location:

https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/map/2021-may-26

For Furnace Creek, totality begins at 4:11AM PDT, peaks at 4:18AM, and ends at 4:25AM.  The moon sets at 5:41AM.

At peak eclipse, the moon will be in the southwest part of the sky on a bearing of 229 degrees.  The moon will be 14 degrees above the horizon.  You will need a location with a clear view to the southwest going down to the horizon.

I don't know how well a smartphone or point-and-shoot camera will capture this event. If possible, use a camera with a telephoto or zoom lens.  Manual exposure and manual focus will work best here.  Increase the ISO to 1600 (or higher if your camera still produces decent pictures) to keep exposure times to around 1 second or shorter. A tripod is mandatory. Avoid pressing the shutter button to minimize shake. Use a wired or bluetooth release. Lacking those, set the self-timer for a short delay.

Good luck and please post pictures.

it will be low on teh horizon but visible form my house in Roslyn WA.  Just got out the clino and compass.  But, if I had my way I'd be on Dante's View or even camped at Arcane Meadows!  (If the road is driveable to Wildrose!)

[DeathValleyDazed]

Thanks for the photos and tip on observing the Moon. I checked out Las Vegas Astronomical Society's Facebook and their new website 

https://lvastronomy.org/Home.html

and there is no mention of a Moon Eclipse event on their agenda. So it looks like any DEVA observers are on their own. 

[Candace66]

Thanks for the heads-up on this, I didn't even know an eclipse was coming, LOL!!

I won't be in DVNP but I might be in a spot to glimpse this early on the 26th. Though I gather the moon will be quite low in the sky.

[MojaveGeek]

BTW, that photo of the moon is an excellent example of the earth's shadow against the distant atmosphere, and the pinkish band is known as the Belt of Venus (or Venus' Girdle).

And of course when you see the moon sitting right at the edge of the shadow like that, it must be full, as it is opposite the sun.

[John Morrow]

BTW, that photo of the moon is an excellent example of the earth's shadow against the distant atmosphere, and the pinkish band is known as the Belt of Venus (or Venus' Girdle).

And of course when you see the moon sitting right at the edge of the shadow like that, it must be full, as it is opposite the sun.

I never heard of the "belt of Venus". I love it.  I call it teh "edge of day" or "edge of night" respectively.

[David_Bricker]

Dang, I should be over in Hawaii for this. Looks like they'd have a great view.

David Bricker / SYR