Nov. 8, 2022 Lunar Eclipse

New Astronomy Gear

This fall, I was determined to use my telescope a little more than I had over the summer. Over the past months I seem to have found myriad excuses not to get it out. From the fine weather bike trips, to the excuse of finding a new job, I continually failed to get it out.

With my determination, new gear. This time a new zoom eyepiece, and a camera adapter. The zoom is a great upgrade from the antique optics that I was using before. Offering a much better field of view, and the ability to zoom without changing eyepieces this is a welcome upgrade that also is more enjoyable to share views with friends and neighbors.

The second piece of gear is an adapter for my camera body. This allows me to use the telescope as a camera lens. It is limited to a fixed focal length, so no zoom available, but it is a huge upgrade to my ability to share what I can see.

The Eclipse

The first thing that I want to share with my new photography capabilities is the Lunar Eclipse that happened this last November. I woke up early to get a glimpse of the eclipse before it set beneath the trees on the South West side of my front yard. I really struggled to get a good focus on this, because as soon as the eclipse started, it was very dim compared to the usual Moon.

Despite my struggles, I think the picture turned out ok. There are better photographs out there, but this one is mine. Not bad for a shivering amateur at 4:30 a.m.