Mira Public Observatory, Grimbergen, Belgium

Lunar Eclipse of May 4th 2004

Update 06/05/2004: an archive of all the images we made is now available.

Well, that's it from us for now. Both my laptop and my fingers seized up at 22:23UT, but we did manage to cover most of the eclipse. Do join us again on June the 8th for the Venus transit.

We're getting quite a lot of visitors. Including quite a few hacking attempts, I notice. But we're att the end of totality so I better bring you some more images...

21:15UT: more clouds are coming in. I can still see quite a few stars, but the horizon's all clouded over at the moment. Let's hope the Moon peeps through before the end of the eclipse...

20:55UT: Clouds still come and go. While I wait for a clear spot some background information: the images you see were taken with a Canon Eos 300D with Sigma 200mm lens, then cropped down to the size you see. Location: about 20km east of Cambridge, UK.

20h33UT: Wahey! An opening in the clouds! The image is still a bit fuzzy but the moon's clearly there.

20:30UT update: still clouds along the horizon, moving from South to North. But not all's lost yet, more than half the sky is still clear. My fingers are beginning to freeze solid, though.

20:15UT update: an opening in the clouds moved in just the right direction to take some more shots. Sadly clouded over now.

News at 20h UT/GMT: cloudy in Grimbergen still, but fairly clear in Cambridgeshire. We'll keep bringing you images for as long as we can. Currently there's some scattered clouds near the horizon, so updates will come as and when possible.

News at 19:38 UT/GMT: Sadly, the weather in Grimbergen/Belgium isn't cooperating. Stay tuned, however - the weather might improve later. We also have an operative standing by with a camera in Cambridge (UK) where the skies seem to be clearer but the moon hasn't risen yet. We'll do our best to bring you something.

Unfortunately, conditions were than ideal. The Moon only rose after the the eclipse has already started (moonrise at 19h UT). And even at the start of totality, the eclipsed Moon was be no more than 6° above the horizon.

You can find a movie of our last webcast (the lunar eclipse of November 8th 2003) here.

Maansverduistering van 4 mei 2004

U kan alle beeldjes die we tijdens de eclips poduceerden hier bekijken.

Nieuws om 19:40 UT: jammer genoeg is het in Grimbergen bewolkt. Maar een Mira-medewerker in Cambridge heeft wel helder weer en staat klaar met een fototoestel om live beelden te produceren zodra de maan boven de lichte wolken aan de horizon uitklimt.

Update: uiteindelijk slaagden we erin beelden uit te zenden vanuit Burwell, 20km ten oosten van Cambridge in Groot-Britannie.

Spijtig genoeg waren de omstandigheden ditmaal minder optimaal: de Maan kwam pas op omstreeks 21h (zomertijd) en dan was de gedeeltelijke fase van de eclips reeds begonnen. En ook bij het begin van de totaliteit stond ze slechts 6° boven de horizon.

Ondertussen kan u alvast een animatie van onze laatste webcast (de maansverduistering van 8-9 november ll.) hier bekijken.

Meer informatie vindt U in ons artikel over deze maansverduistering.