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Experience the beauty and brilliance of solar and lunar eclipses, rare astronomical events and constellations. Dive into the depths of sky with pictures of the eclipseland photo edition!

I captured the astronomical events not only above home Rhine Main area in Germany, but also travelled to distant countries. So these images were taken e.g. in Zimbabwe, at the Kruger National Park (South Africa), China and in Central America.

In my experience reports stories, impressions and backgrounds, how these pictures have been created and further pictures of the journeys and observation sites can be found.

Sun, Moon and stars continuously provide new astronomical views and eclipses. This gallery increases permanently. Brandnew my pictures are published as photos and videos first on AstroNation.

Stephan Heinsius.

Lunar Eclipses

<div style="text-align: justify">The total lunar eclipse on the early morning hours of 21st February 2008 was accompanied by lots of clouds and humidity. When the sky cleared up fog quickly emerged. During the second partial phase the eclipsed moon could prevail against clouds and fog and enabled this view of the ghost moon.</div>

<div style="text-align: justify">On 16. September 1997 a partially eclipsed full moon rose over the autumnallly fields of Dreieich (South Hesse, Germany). Completely ripe apples decorated the trees, horses are still outside. But the apples remained full, as the moon was already remarkably &bdquo;nibbled“  by moving into Earth’s umbra shortly after sunset.<br /><br />The autumn moon eclipse was taken in the North of Dreieich-Dreieichenhain (South Hesse, Germany).<br /> </div>

During a partial lunar eclipse the moon traverses through the shadow of Earth. The curvature of Earth is projected impressively onto the surface of the moon. The dark part of the moon lies within Earth’s umbra, i.e. no sunlight reaches the moon directly. Just light that is scattered by the Earth’s atmosphere provides a dark reddish or brownish shine of the moon. On the bright side of the moon the sun is still shining, although it is partially eclipsed by the Earth. A light greenish of bluish color intermixes with the remaining sunlight on the moon.<br /><br />This telescopic photograph accrued during the first partial phase of the total lunar eclipse on 9th November 2003.

<div style="text-align: justify">During a partial lunar eclipse sunlight directly reaches only a part of the moon’s surface. This suffices to illuminate clouds on Earth. Jointly with the totally eclipsed part of the moon, that is being illuminated only by dawn and dusk light of the Earth’s atmosphere, thus beaming in reddish dawn and dusk colors, an attractive nightly motive of light and shadows results, like on this photograph  of the second partial phase of the total lunar eclipse on 4th May 2004, captured in Gückingen, near Limburg, Germany.</div>

<div style="text-align: justify">It’s a rare occasion, when the air is so clear, that the rise of the full moon can be observed directly on the limb of the eastern horizon. Far more rare is the appearance of an ongoing lunar eclipse just at this time, as it can be seen on this picture. The photograph shows the rise of the partially eclipsed moon on 16th September 1997 over the fields between Dreieich-Dreieichenhain and Dreieich-Götzenhain (Südhessen), Germany.  The left part of the full moon lies within the umbra of Earth and is not visible due to the scattered light of the sun just having set on the opposite direction in the West.</div>

When the full moon shifts into the shadow of Earth, it still shines in weak red-orange or brownish-green color tones. During a total lunar eclipse no sunlight directly reaches the surface of the moon.  Just a little of it, that is scattered through the atmosphere of Earth, illuminates the moon. That light comes from areas of Earth, where there is an ongoing dusk or dawn.<br /><br />This photograph shows the total lunar eclipse of 4th March 2007, and on the right hand side of it the star 59 Leonis of constellation Leo (the lion).

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Galleries:

Gallery
Other Constellations(4)	Atmospheric Astronomy(1)	Lunar Eclipses(7)
Planet Occultations(1)	Solar Eclipses(23)	Transits(0)