Snow moon, up close and personal...

I can't remember the last time I looked at the moon with anything but the naked eye. If casually looking up at that big bright disc in wonder is a romantic experience, then taking a look with aid of a telescope or telephoto lens is more aptly described as "breathtaking."

Wednesday evening was our last total lunar eclipse until sometime in 2010. I was charged with our visual coverage of the event. I setup shop on top of our office building downtown with a 600mm lens and a 2x teleconverter (which doubles the power of the lens) all mounted on a tripod. The forecast was calling for subzero overnight lows, so I ran the camera off AC power. Because of the mass amount of snow and moisture on the roof, I opted not to chance my safety with an extension cord. I got my juice from a Black & Decker portable power supply.

The first photo of the night showing our moon before it began passing through earth's cast shadow.

And here is how we presented the photos in the next day's paper:


A time lapse sequence created from my still photographs will be posted soon!