{"id":112671,"date":"2025-09-01T20:46:14","date_gmt":"2025-09-01T20:46:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/112671\/"},"modified":"2025-09-01T20:46:14","modified_gmt":"2025-09-01T20:46:14","slug":"how-to-photograph-this-weekends-blood-moon-total-lunar-eclipse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/112671\/","title":{"rendered":"How to photograph this weekend’s blood Moon total lunar eclipse"},"content":{"rendered":"

The total lunar eclipse on 7 September 2025<\/a> will be visible from the UK as the Moon rises, meaning the Moon will already be eclipsed when it emerges above the horizon.<\/p>\n

In fact, totality will have ended about 15 minutes after the Moon pops up above the horizon (as seen from the centre of the UK).<\/p>\n

\"HowCredit: Diana Robinson Photography<\/p>\n

That means, if you want to photograph the 7 September lunar eclipse from the UK<\/a>, you’ll want to catch it as close to the horizon as possible.<\/p>\n

\"HowHow the 7 September total lunar eclipse will look from the UK at 20:00 Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/p>\n

There are many ways to photograph a lunar eclipse and, as you\u2019d expect, some methods work better than others.<\/p>\n

Of course, the wild card will be the weather, which caused a lot of issues for much of the UK during the lunar eclipse in March 2025.<\/p>\n

All we can do is keep our fingers crossed and hope for crisp, clear, haze-free skies this time around.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, with the final partial phase lasting just over an hour, there\u2019s a decent window of opportunity to capture something worthwhile.<\/p>\n

\"AA man uses a smartphone to take picture of a blood moon through telescope during a total lunar eclipse in Goyang, northwest of Seoul, on November 8, 2022. (Photo by JUNG YEON-JE \/ AFP) (Photo by JUNG YEON-JE\/AFP via Getty Images
\nUsing a smartphone<\/p>\n

A smartphone is perfectly acceptable for photographing a lunar eclipse, but the Moon\u2019s apparent diameter of around half a degree will result in a small lunar disc.<\/p>\n

Yes, you can zoom in with your phone, but the best results will come from staying within your phone\u2019s optical zoom range.<\/p>\n

Beyond that, you\u2019re into digital zooming territory, which is no better than enlarging the image in post-processing using an image editor.<\/p>\n

The software increases the number of pixels in the image by interpolating between actual recorded data, filling in gaps with synthetic information.<\/p>\n

Get more advice with our guide on how to photograph the Moon with a smartphone<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"LunarLunar eclipse imaged by Michael Shapiro, Farmington Hills, Michigan, USA, 8 August 2022. Equipment: ZWO ASI 294 MC Pro camera, Celestron Evolution 8 telescope and mount
\nCamera and lens<\/p>\n

A better bet for photographing a lunar eclipse is to use a dedicated camera fitted with a lens of at least 400mm focal length<\/a> on a full-frame sensor.<\/p>\n

This setup will allow you to capture the Moon as a detailed disc with visible surface features.<\/p>\n

Mounting the camera on a fixed platform \u2013 or, even better, a tracking mount \u2013 will help you achieve excellent, sharp images.<\/p>\n

The bright lunar surface that is exposed after totality won\u2019t typically require long exposures and so is unlikely to be subject to trailing.<\/p>\n

However, if you allow the bright surface to over-expose, you should be able to pull out some of the beautiful umbral colours in the darker part of the shadowed regions.<\/p>\n

For this, you\u2019ll need slightly longer exposures, which is where a tracking mount becomes especially useful.<\/p>\n

\"LunarLunar Eclipse by William Doyen, Lower Normandy, France, 28 September 2015. Equipment: Bresser 200\/800mm Newtonian, EOS 600D
\nPlanetary camera<\/p>\n

Another method is to use a planetary camera setup with a wide enough field of view to be able to capture the entire Moon in a single frame.<\/p>\n

Planetary setups typically use multi-frame imaging, collecting numerous shots of the same target over a short period of time.<\/p>\n

Software such as AutoStakkert! (freeware) can then analyse, quality-assess, register and stack the frames to generate a final image with a higher signal-to-noise ratio than the individual frames.<\/p>\n

The trick here is to make sure you don\u2019t extend the capture session too long, otherwise the movement of Earth\u2019s shadow will blur the edge more than usual.<\/p>\n

Find out more in our guide to stacking images of the Moon<\/a>.<\/p>\n

6 tips for photographing the September 2025 lunar eclipse
\nPlan your location
\n\"PhotographCredit: Pete Lawrence<\/p>\n

Keep an eye on the weather and, if you\u2019re prepared to put in a little extra effort, identify some alternative locations that might be clear in case you\u2019re clouded out.<\/p>\n

Pick sites with unobstructed views in the required direction. From the centre of the UK, the Moon rises at azimuth 100\u00b0 or just south (right) of east.<\/p>\n

Practise, practise, practise
\n\"PhotographCredit: Pete Lawrence<\/p>\n

Choose your setup(s) and practise with the Moon on evenings ahead of the eclipse, especially if you intend to relocate on eclipse day.<\/p>\n

As a bare minimum, use a DSLR or equivalent with a 400mm or longer lens.<\/p>\n

Take your phone for atmospheric shots too, such as the Belt of Venus<\/a> into which the Moon will rise.<\/p>\n

Prepare your camera lens
\n\"PhotographCredit: Pete Lawrence<\/p>\n

On evenings before the lunar eclipse, focus your lens as accurately as possible on the Moon.<\/p>\n

Then, with the lens set to manual focus, use a length of low-tack electrical tape to secure the focus ring so it can\u2019t rotate.<\/p>\n

When the Moon rises on 7 September, the show will already be under way, so you need to be as ready as possible.<\/p>\n

Identify where the Moon will rise
\n\"PhotographCredit: Pete Lawrence<\/p>\n

To pinpoint exactly where the Moon will appear, visit your chosen location on a night before the eclipse.<\/p>\n

Wait for the sky to darken and Saturn to become visible.<\/p>\n

Set your camera\u2019s clock accurately (ideally using UT), then take a wide or mid shot of the horizon where you expect the Moon to rise, exposing to capture stars.<\/p>\n

Use a stargazing app
\n\"PhotographCredit: Pete Lawrence<\/p>\n

Download your images and inspect their EXIF headers using freeware like FastStone.<\/p>\n

With a planetarium app, identify stars near the horizon and their azimuths by entering the shot\u2019s date and time. Note the azimuths of visible horizon features.<\/p>\n

Using the same app, confirm where the Moon will rise on 7 September.<\/p>\n

Give yourself plenty of time
\n\"PhotographCredit: Pete Lawrence<\/p>\n

On the night, set up in good time.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t be surprised if the Moon doesn\u2019t show when expected: low haze can easily hide it. Binoculars will very helpful.<\/p>\n

Use a low to mid ISO and an aperture around f\/8\u2013f\/11. Short exposures will capture the bright surface, but try longer ones to reveal colour in the shadowed regions.<\/p>\n

If you photograph the 7 September 2025 lunar eclipse, share your images with us by emailing contactus@skyatnightmagazine.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The total lunar eclipse on 7 September 2025 will be visible from the UK as the Moon rises,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":112672,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[76,354,355,49,48,356,75],"class_list":{"0":"post-112671","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-ca","12":"tag-canada","13":"tag-design","14":"tag-entertainment"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112671","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112671"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112671\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/112672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}