Darkness during a Total Lunar Eclipse

On 15 June 2011 the totally eclipsed Moon was very dark, with the Moon itself positioned on the sky toward the center of our Milky Way Galaxy. In the darkness of totality TWAN photographer made this silhouette self-portrait under the arc of the Milky Way. The eclipsed moon lies in the constellation Ophiuchus near the border with Scorpius and Sagittarius (which marks the central galactic bulge). Click on the second photo to see the photographer’s telescopic image of the moon at this moment. The total phase of the eclipse lasted an impressive 100 minutes. Parts of the eclipse were visible from most of planet Earth, except for North and Central America.