Many of us witnessed the solar eclipse in early August, but fewer will have experienced the lunar eclipse a few weeks later. Deepak Dembla was awake in the early hours to take this photo montage on Wanstead Flats
My name is Deepak Dembla. I’m an IT professional with a passion for photography, stargazing, fitness and dancing. I love capturing beautiful moments and exploring the night sky.
This lunar eclipse began at 2.23am on Friday, 28 August 2026. I began by taking a long exposure of Wanstead Flats with a wide-angle lens, then used my zoom lens to photograph the eclipse and capture lunar details. I documented the eclipse phases by superimposing the eclipse photos on the wide-angle Wanstead Flats picture to get the final image shown here.
An eclipse is an astronomical event when a celestial object is temporarily hidden as another object passes in front of it. A lunar eclipse happens when the Earth moves between the Sun and the full Moon; this blocks the light from the Sun and casts a shadow on the Moon’s surface.
Lunar eclipses are of three types. A total lunar eclipse is when the Moon moves completely into the Earth’s inner shadow (called umbra) and glows red in colour. The red colour is due to the fact the sunlight passing through the Earth’s atmosphere bends and scatters, allowing longer red wavelengths to reach the Moon. This is known as Rayleigh scattering. A partial eclipse happens when only a part of the Moon passes through the umbra. And a penumbral eclipse is when the Moon passes through the Earth’s lighter shadow (called penumbra) and dims slightly.
Lunar eclipses are rare astronomical events, happening once or a few times a year. Total lunar eclipses are even rarer, with the next one visible from Europe taking place on 31 December 2028. A total eclipse lasts around three hours in certain geographical regions. Unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses are completely safe to look at with the naked eye.
To view more of Deepak’s photos, visit wnstd.com/deepak. To order prints, email deepakdembla@yahoo.com
