Blood Moon 2019 pictures: How to photograph the lunar eclipse – can you use your phone?

A lunar eclipse will bring about 2019’s first blood moon, one of several which will be visible this year. Almost all of Europe and America will be ale to see the Moon as it turns a deep red, coming in from the east. Most countries will see the phenomenon in the early hours, from around 2-3am, including the UK, which will see the first stages of the cycle by 2.30am. While not everyone will be prepared to get up so early, those who will stand a good chance of getting some very dramatic photos.

How to photograph the lunar eclipse

The Greenwich Royal Observatory is keeping a close eye on the blood Moon, and have advised people on the best ways to capture photographs of the strange event.

Tom Kerss, Astronomer and science communicator with the Royal Observatory has been on hand to guide people in getting the best photos of the night.

He said: ”You don’t need a good telescope to take a photograph of the Moon, but if you want to see details on the lunar surface you’ll want to use the longest lens you have in order to zoom in.”

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“That’s because,while we tend to think of the Moon as a big object in the sky, its actually rather small.

“You can prove that to yourself by covering it with your little finger stretched out at arms length.

“Of course if you are going to be zooming in, to minimise any shake in your photos, you’ll want to use a tripod and a remote shutter.

“For us here in the UK, the Eclipse is going to be at its greatest at its latest stages when it is relatively low in the south west and the west.”

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Tom advises the best way to utilise the eclipse is by adding in natural or man-made landmarks to the photo, creating a dramatic scene.

He says: “If you have interesting foreground subjects on your western horizon (buildings, statues etc), then try to position yourself so you can capture them in the shot as well.

“There might be an area of outstanding natural beauty or some buildings, or perhaps even yourself.

“If you already know quite a bit about processing photos then it might be a good idea to take some more challenging types of shots of this eclipse.”

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“You could, for example, try taking an image with a very high amount of colour, and exaggerating that colour to see the layers of the Earth’s atmosphere while the total phase is beginning to end.

“You could try taking a high-dynamic range photograph, not only capturing the moon, but also the stars in the background as well.”

Tom doesn’t mention the capabilities of mobile phones to take photographs of the Moon, but chances are using a phone without specialist equipment might result in blurry or lower-quality photos.

Some phones will come equipped with a number of different cameras allowing for crisp photos however, so if you have a top-of0the-line device you could capture the beauty of the blood Moon.

source: express.co.uk