Foggy Eclipse in a Quite Abbey

From the photographer: “For the longest total lunar eclipse of the 21st century I was located at the Abbey Church of the Holy Trinity, which is part of the Benedictine Monastery at New Norcia, about 150 km north of Perth, in the wheatbelt of Western Australia. Just south of this place is the European Space Agency Satellite tracking facility.

Despite rain, and a lot of cloud, I managed to successfully photograph the eclipse, resulting in these evocative shots. Fog has produced a beautiful halo soft-focus effect, constantly changing. The eclipse was exquisite. It was a real pleasure doing this astrophotography, in the quietness of the monastery grounds, as fog slowly transformed the scene, drops of water quietly sounded across the landscape. Just beautiful and very serene. A bright (orange) light behind the Abbey has created the strong glow. Towards the end of the eclipse, a monk silently appeared, on his very early morning rise to open the Abbey Church. Then fog enveloped the scene, fading out the stars and the eclipse.”

Click the second photo for another photo.