A total lunar eclipse happened in the early hours of the 21st January 2019. With most of the UK forecast to have cloud we were very lucky to have clear sky for the entire duration. The penumbral eclipse began at 02:37 followed by the partial eclipse starting at 03:35 and total eclipse beginning at 04:42. The Totality part of the eclipse lasted for a total of 1 hour and 2 minutes with totality ending at 05:41 and the whole event completed by 07:46.
The entire event was beautiful and surreal. It amazes me how 3D the moon appears when it is at totality and the red hue of the shadow dims the face of the moon. As the eclipse progressed the sky became darker and the stars started to come out allowing a lovely view of the beehive cluster that was just off to the left of the eclipse. I tried my hand at a bit of lunar sketching but it is really difficult to draw the face of the moon so I sketched something that looks like a child playgroup afternoon and made a few notes of my observations.
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