Progress of Lunar Eclipse (Jul 16, 2000)

Large-sized images loaded on new window by clicking on each flame.


Date & Time: Jul 16 2000 (Times in image are JST)
1/60 to 1/250 sec. exposed each, totally eclipsed images exposed 5 to 10sec.
Optical: VIXEN 20cm(7.9") VISAC (f=1800mm, F9.0)
Auto-guided with TAKAHASHI EM-200 Equatorial
Camera: VIXEN VX-1
Film: Fujicolor Super G Ace 800
Location: Subashiri halfway up Mt. Fuji, Shizuoka pref.


This multi-flame picture shows you the progress of total lunar eclipse on Jul 16, 2000. The moon passed almost dead center through the Earth's shadow, it goes without saying that the totally eclipsed time was unusually long. And it's another characteristic that the lunar eclipse had very short partially eclipsed time. It took only a little under an hour.
A shot of center flame, taken at 22:59 JST, is worth the almost maximum magnitude of eclipse. At the time the moon showed me deep, beautiful, and unearthly crimson color. In the cases of general lunar eclipse, the moon passes the course a bit swerved from the center of Earth's shadow. As a result the eclipsed moon has the color with gradation at the maximum magnitude of eclipse, it looks like flames on both sides taken at 22:02 and 23:46 JST. Probably we'll not be able to appreciate such a flat and deep reddish color of eclipsed moon in next several hundreds years.


Totally eclipsed moon
Progress of Lunar Eclipse, change of coloration

Copyright(c) 2000 by Naoyuki Kurita, All rights reserved.
To top page To Eclipse index