The Total Lunar Eclipse of November 28, 1993

I am camped at Mesquite Springs at the north end of Death Valley National Monument, California. Although this is the desert, winter nights are cold and I keep a pot of cocoa simmering on the Coleman stove. As the sun sets in the west, the full moon rises in the east. The sky is clear, but the moon is so bright that only the brightest stars can be seen. But this is the night of a lunar eclipse, when the glare of the moon will be almost completely extinguished by the shadow of the earth. Nights on the desert are often still, but this night there seems to be a quiet expectation in the air. Other campers move about the campground, some asking me about the eclipse, some seeming completely oblivious to the impending spectacle.

As the moon moves into the diffuse outer part of earth's shadow, the penumbra, its dimming is barely noticeable. But late that night, high in the sky, it finally encounters the deep shadow, the umbra, and a dark bite is taken. The bite grows gradually until it has swallowed the moonlight. The moon has become a reddish gray, and the stars leap back into the sky. The mind struggles to grasp the incongruity of a dark full moon in the center of a star-filled sky!

Compared to a solar eclipse, which only lasts 7 minutes -- or less -- lunar eclipses are leisurely affairs. The moon lingers completely within the earth's shadow for an hour or so, allowing plenty of time for appreciation and photography. Eventually -- it is now past midnight -- the shadow passes and the full moon's cold silver light again falls upon the land. But the desert has long since gone to sleep, and so must I.

Date: November 28, 1993
Time: approximately 10:30 pm PST
Location: Mesquite Springs Campground, Death Valley National Monument, California
Camera: Canon AE-1 35mm SLR on barn-door tracker
Film: Ektachrome P1600 slide
Focal length: 200mm with 3X tele-extender (effective 600mm)
Aperture: f/4 (effective f/11)
Exposure time: 12 seconds
Scanner: Nikon Coolscan LS-2000