Tomorrow, November 19, there will be an important event, the longest (partial) lunar eclipse of the century, which will last for 3 hours and 28 minutes, this being one of the most anticipated astronomical phenomena of 2021. This phenomenon will cause the Moon to adopt a reddish hue that will lead to the famous’blood Moon‘.
The natural event will be visible in various parts of Latin America including Mexico, the United States and Canada, as well as Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru, Bolivia, Chile and half of the territory of Argentina and Brazil. The good news is that you don’t need any optical instruments to observe it.
Because the Moon is so close to the Earth, it is possible to capture excellent photos, even from a mobile phone. So if you want to keep a great memory of this epic moment, we leave you some tips and recommendations to take the best “pose” and photography from our satellite.
Tips and Tricks for Capturing a Lunar Eclipse
Lunar eclipses do not require any special protection or filter, unlike solar ones, so it is possible to capture them without any risk to our health. Nor is it necessary to use any special equipment to capture it with a smartphone.
Having said that, the first thing to do is prepare for the event, as it is always recommended to practice previously with the intention of knowing our cellular equipment, the tools it has and the limitations it could have, being one of the most common light gathering.
For the big night, it is best to start testing the day before at the same time, locate the light sources (such as street lamps, our home, to determine if it is the best place or, failing that, search with be very careful in a safe place as high and dark as possible. darkness It will help to better capture the Moon since it will be responsible for providing the luminescence source, so it is not necessary to add any other additional source.
Although, today the smartphone They have an arrangement of photographic lenses, for this example it will not be necessary for you to know all of them, since the most recommended to capture the Moon, due to its distance, is the telephoto lens, you just have to locate it on your computer and do tests with it. In case your team does not have this lens, try to integrate the moon into a setting that is as attractive as possible.
Technical adjustments and accessories we recommend
Smartphones integrate two capture modes, the first of which is the automatic mode that selects the configuration that the device considers appropriate for the environment in which it is located, that is, it selects and adjusts parameters such as lighting, focus, warmth, among other aspects. However the Automatic mode It is not always the best, especially when it comes to capturing a phenomenon that occurs a few times a year, so we recommend you try the Manual mode, especially emphasis on focus adjustment.
Another important parameter to review is the exposition, since although it does not look like it, the Moon reflects a lot of light which could cause the photograph to be overexposed. To do this, carry out tests by adjusting this point in manual mode, a good contrast will not only allow you to capture the Moon, in some cases you will even be able to appreciate the craters on the lunar surface.
A tip recommended by Engadget is to use the rule of the F16 that roughly, “this standard says that if we select a shutter speed close to the sensor’s ISO sensitivity value, the aperture of the diaphragm that we must use to obtain a correct exposure will be f / 16. In these conditions, some interesting parameters to photograph the Moon could be ISO 100, 1/125 and f / 16 “.
Among the suggested accessories we recommend having a tripod and a remote trigger, since you will be constantly capturing different stages of the eclipse, which means a lot of “shots”, from the same point. The tripod must be placed on a flat surface to prevent it from falling and damaging our cell phone.
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