SSP TUESDAY - Self Guided Total Lunar Eclipse

The Moon will transition through a lunar eclipse on this night whilst it is a full moon.
This event is self guided. You may wish to do this from your back yard or your balcony if you have a view from ENE to N from 17 to 48° Elevation.

This year, the total lunar eclipse duration will be 5 hr 39 min. The start to finish in Sydney is from 7:44pm to 1:23am. However, really only need to capture the Umbra to Umbra stages as the penumbra stages are just darkening of the moon. So 8:50PM to 00:20AM. Total lunar eclipse will be approximately 1 hr. Reality is plenty of time to grab a sequence of images of the moon. Maybe from the comfort of your back yard or balcony.

The next total lunar eclipse in Sydney will be in 2029.

Where to locate yourself:
You will need clear access to the Moon from ENE to N. Suggest you check out your location at day time to ensure no obstructions.

The timing for the Total Lunar Eclipse on Tuesday 3 March 2026 at Sydney is:
Moon Rise 7:21 PM
Sun Set 7:30 PM
Start of Eclipse; Penumbra 19:43 PM, 78°, ENE 4° Elevation
Start of Eclipse; Umbra 20:51 PM, 69°, ENE 17° Elevation
Half Eclipse 21:21PM, 63° NE 24° Elevation
Full Eclipse 22:05PM to 23:03PM, 50° NE 30° Elevation.
End of Eclipse; Umbra 00:18AM, 20°, NNE 48° Elevation
End of Eclipse; Penumbra 1:23AM, 356°, N 50° Elevation

Positioning the moon in the frame:
You have a few options, one involving a tracker.
1. Align the tracker using the mount adjustments to the southern celestial pole. Set tracking rate to lunar. Adjust the 3way geared head or ballhead on the tracker to point the lens to the Moon. You are now ready to shoot. Depending on the alignment accuracy and your focal length, repositioning the bullhead/geared head alignment should be minimal
2. Aim the camera to frame the Moon in the centre of the frame. Do this for each frame to be captured. A 3 way geared head will be much easier to use, particularly with a long telephoto lens.
3. Timelapse using a tripod and an intervalometer to take 1 photo every 60sec. PhotoShop or other programs can create a video from the images you captured plus you can create images. If using a mobile phone you can use the video timelapse function but may have to extract the images from the MP4 video manually. Search in Google or YouTube for explanation to do this or join me at the next social n edit event at Chatswood RSL

Equipment:
DSLR/Mirrorless camera, 2 fully charged camera batteries or external battery pack plus a remote shutter cable or intervalometer.
Your longest Telephoto lens
Tripod and adapters, especially if trying to do a timelapse.
Optional tracker

Settings:
Of course, there is a difficulty. The blood moon luminosity is extremely reduced—roughly 600,000 times or approximately 19 f-stops dimmer for photographers, making it appear reddish-orange or copper. This is more than the dynamic range of your camera. Your exposure settings will have to be manually adjusted when shooting to ensure your exposure is OK for post processing. You could try spot metering on the moon with Auto ISO and Aperture Priority. Whatever you do, use your camera's histogram to set exposure on the brightest part of the Moon.
So no over exposure spike on the RHS of the histogram for a full moon. The histogram should look like a capital L with black sky represented by the vertical spike on the LHS and a line across the horizontal axis of the histogram. With a "blood" moon, you may be shooting at ISO6400 compared to ISO 100 for the usual exposure for a full moon. So during the partial eclipse, the sunlit surface of the moon may be burnt out or the shadowed part may be hidden by noise.
Also use manual focus, not AF as the blood moon brightness may not be enough for your camera to focus
There is little point aligning the moon with another subject, such as the Sydney Tower if not doing a timelapse. The Moon is too high in the sky and you will need to be relatively close to the subject rendering the apparent Moon size smaller.
Research:
Upcoming eclipses in Sydney https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/in/australia/sydney
Total lunar eclipse 3rd March 2026
https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/in/australia/sydney?iso=20260303
Advanced:
Download a detailed guide using PhotoPills [https://www.photopills.com/articles/lunar-eclipse-photography-guide](https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=comments&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbkx4MGd0LU9XTEJwRHh1d1RhcGxlVkpjZEVoZ3xBQ3Jtc0trZkEwWFdFNXIxMUVhdGdkY1NPVUpjNzRhWUFGckZRTjJoQ0hWc0RVUHRCR1BaNEtRWE9DdEVvQzMyWmt0MGlKOC1ra0xHR0F6MXRfWnFENkliN1dSVjhMS3I3X0t5bmdfYlVlcWExa18xV1FPV0RMaw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.photopills.com%2Farticles%2Flunar-eclipse-photography-guide)