Total Lunar Eclipse (Blood Moon)

This will be a full lunar eclipse easily visible from the US, if weather cooperates. The full cycle from partial eclipse to end is from 1 a.m. on Friday to 5 a.m. in the early morning. Please sign up only if you know you can make it!

Download a full tutorial on how to photograph a lunar eclipse from my Patreon store. I will also announce a webinar to cover this (which will include the tutorial).

The moon will be south at 50° high in the sky at the beginning of the total eclipse and will go down to the west at 16° at the end. Should be easy to shoot with a clear sky looking south-west.

| Event | Time in Boston* | Moon elevation from horizon |
| ----- | --------------- | --------------------------- |
| Partial Eclipse begins | March 14

at 1:09 a.m. | 187° (S) / 50° high (max altitude) |
| Full Eclipse begins | March 14

at 2:26 a.m. | 214° (SSW) / 47° |
| Maximum Eclipse | March 14

at 2:58 a.m. | 223° / 41° |
| Full Eclipse ends | March 14

at 3:31 a.m. | 232° (SW) / 36° |
| Partial Eclipse ends | March 14

at 4:47 a.m. | 248° (WSW) / 16° |

During the total eclipse, the moon will turn red, which is why it is called a "Blood Moon", the Milky Way will not be visible, it will be below horizon.

For the moon itself, use the longest lens you got, maybe with tele-converter, the 400-600mm range is great for this. During blood moon, the exposure needs to be cranked up to very high ISO and exposure time needs to be compromised - up to a full second. Alternatively, you can mount the long lens on a sky tracker, which will enable you to take 5+ s photos without blur at lower ISO, making for better quality.

This will be a long night, don't forget spare batteries, bring a lawn chair, snacks and fluids and perhaps that extra layer or blanket.

See this page for more information and an animation: https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/in/usa/boston?iso=20250314

Make sure to check in with the organizer and no guests, as always.