Great views of the lunar eclipse

The lunar eclipse of 15^th June was a worldwide event but here in Balule Reserve we were blessed with both a total eclipse and perfect, absolutely cloudless viewing conditions.  We were therefore able to see the whole phenomenon, notably the change from brilliant white full moon, through the earth’s shadow moving across, to totality and the orange-red colour of the moon as it was lit by light refracted through the earth’s atmosphere.  It was interesting to note how the stars and the Milky Way became increasingly visible as the eclipse proceeded.  The sahdow first cut into the moon's disc at 20.23 pm locak time and the disc was fully covered at around 21.27 pm.  We managed to obtain a reasonable series of photographs, some of which are given below.  For those interested in photographic specifications the pictures were taken with a 100-500 mm zoom lens on full zoom;  ISO settings ranged from 200 before the eclipse to 12000 at totality; shutter speeds ranged from 1/4000 before the eclipse to 1/30 at totality.  This enabled detail to be seen beforehand  and in the early stages and the later orange-red colour, which is very distinct with the naked eye approaching and after totality, to be realised in the photos. 

19.56 hrs: before the eclipse

20.30 hrs: soon after shadow started to cross the moon's disc

20.46 hrs: about one third across

21.05 hrs: almosy two thirds across

21.26 hrs:  almost total

21.30 hrs: totality