Pretty as a pink partially eclipsed Moon!
- sydneycityskywatch
- Mar 14
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 19
This short report of the total lunar eclipse which occurred on 14 March 2025, as seen from eastern Australia, is by Sydney City Skywatchers Members: Geoff Wyatt, Toner Stevenson, Michael Chapman and Ross and Trish Mitchell. Several other members, including Catherine, Craig, Andrew W, and Rob L, attempted to see the eclipse from the southern beaches of Sydney and Wollongong but they reported that clouds were in the way. Dirk saw the eclipse from Bronte Beach where there were clouds but the Earth's shadow on the Moon was still visible similar to the images below. We are looking forward to the next total Lunar eclipse which will be visible from Australia on 8 September 2025.
Geoff Wyatt was at Warriewood beach, Northern Beaches, Sydney
The clouds seem to appear whenever there is an astronomical event. Anyway, it was still nice to see the Moon pop up over the ocean. You can see my two cameras poised for action and a couple of people on the beach with their dog enjoying the experience too.
Photographs above copyright Geoffrey Wyatt
Michael Chapman was in Armidale, north west NSW
I wasn't expecting much based on previous Lunar eclipses like this one. I did get a fairly clear horizon. The odd thing with the moon is that it so very small on the image and it can be very difficult to include the background and horizon with the zoom lens. Also need a very good zoom lens. For the close-up photos I used a Samyang f1.8 800mm mirror lens and the wider angle shots a f3.5 200mm Canon zoom lens. The camera is a Canon EOS M5 mirror less. This setup provided a range of perspectives, allowing for both detailed lunar imaging and contextual wide-field compositions.
Photographs above copyright Michael Chapman
Toner Stevenson was in Balgowlah Heights, Sydney
As anticipated the partially eclipsed Moon rose from the horizon on Friday 14 March at 7:14pm. From our vantage point at Arabanoo Lookout (Kay-ye-may land) we saw a very pretty pink Moon pop up above the bush on North Head at 7:16pm. This was because of the low lying cloud on the horizon. The evening was warm and humid. The Earth's shadow had receded quite alot before the clouds thinned and we saw the Moon clearly. I had binoculars, a small telescope which others around me also observed through, and my Canon EOS80 camera on a tripod with a 150-600mm F5-6.3 zoom lens. After 7:30pm the cloud thickened. My photos are not fantastic but I enjoyed sharing the experience with my husband, mother and about twenty others.
Photographs above copyright Toner Stevenson
Ross Mitchell and Trish Wilkins were on the Sydney Harbour Bridge
We planned this point of view from the from the Harbour Bridge southern walkway accessed from Circular Quay. We visited the site the day before and then Trish used The Photographer’s Ephemeris to establish exact azimuth on that landscape and the local time of the Moon's appearance on the horizon.
There was a steady foot traffic of assorted tourists, joggers, etc, some knew of the eclipse others not. A surprising number just thought it was a quarter moon and Trish did a lot of public outreach explaining eclipses and moon phases etc. Some were impressed that it was an eclipse AND a full moon.
These last phases of the lunar eclipse were challenging to capture through scattered cloud. The first appearance on the horizon was particularly challenging, very please to get it that early in the sequence. The progression of the eclipse is clearer in the photographs than was visually apparent due to the shifting cloud. My camera was Lumix FZ200 on tripod, images enhanced, cropped, composed and labeled in "GIMP". Credit is due to the phone app "The Photographers Ephemeris" for informing the choice of observing site.
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