Getting the perfect view

It’s all about the timing when it comes to that memorable view of the blood Moon

The eclipse will begin at 3:33am when the Earth’s shadow first falls on the Moon. It will then slowly advance across it from the top left of the disc until half the Moon is covered by 4:10. At 4:41 the Moon will be fully in Earth’s shadow. What will it look like? We can’t know in advance. Sometimes the fully eclipsed Moon is a bright tangerine-orange. Other times it is a much darker, muddy brown.

1Wrap up warm Make sure you are dressed in your warmest hat, gloves and jacket before heading out. If you feel cold you’ll want to come home early, so wrap up as warm as possible.

4Make the most of optical aid If you have binoculars or a telescope look at the totally eclipsed Moon through them. They will enhance the lovely orange, violet and brown colours of totality.

6Process your shots Once you’ve slept and thawed out, process your images to bring out the beautiful colours of the totally eclipsed Moon. Be careful not to overprocess them, though!

5Try shooting with a DSLR Use a DSLR camera on a sturdy tripod to photograph the eclipse. You’ll need a 200mm or longer lens to get a decent-sized image of the Moon.

3Look for ‘First Contact’ Keep a close eye on the top left of theMoon for first contact at 3:33 – you might not notice the shadow until a few minutes later. You can then watch the colour of the Moon change!

2Get a clear western horizon Make sure your chosen observing site doesn’t have anything on the western horizon which will hide the Moon during the later stages of the eclipse.