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Posted: 2022-11-08 04:57:19

Tonight, Australians will be able to look to the sky and see a total lunar eclipse — a term used to describe when the Moon is completely encompassed by the Earth's shadow.

Besides being an event in itself, a lunar eclipse presents a fruitful opportunity for photographers to capture beautiful lunar images.

But you don't have to leave it to the professionals. Here are some tips on how to get the best eclipse snap on your phone.

How do you take a photo of a total lunar eclipse with a phone?

It is possible to take stunning photos of a lunar eclipse with a phone, but without a telescope it will look quite small.

Those beautiful, crisp close-up photos of blood-red lunar eclipses are almost always taken with a telescope or telephoto lens, according to astrophotographer Phil Hart.

"Everything where the Moon is basically the single subject in the frame … will be through either very long telephoto lenses or generally telescopes," Mr Hart tells ABC News.

Astrophotographer Joel Stafford is planning his eclipse photo set up on an iPhone 13 Pro.

He says lunar eclipse photography is in reach, but can be difficult.

"You definitely can take a nice photo with a phone, but with a lunar eclipse it's tricky, because as the Moon turns that shade of red, it gets darker," he says.

"So you need a camera app on your phone that allows the phone camera to do longer exposures."

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Those with phones at the ready take a beat though – Mr Stafford will also be using a telescope in partnership with his phone to get a perfect close-up shot.

"I've got a special phone mount that clicks onto the eyepiece so I can manoeuvre my phone over the eyepiece to shoot through the telescope that way," Mr Stafford explains.

"Then I'll focus it nice and sharply on the Moon and then take photos through the camera app."

Tips and tricks to getting the best lunar eclipse shot

Have a point of comparison

For those only armed with a phone, having a point of comparison in your shot will provide great results, according to Mr Stafford.

"You're not going to get a zoomed-in shot with your phone unless you have a massive zoom," he says.

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"Doing a wide-angled shot with something like your house in the shot and then the Moon above your house, you'll get a nice shot doing it that way."

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