Lunar eclipse

[dreamer_easy]

I got off the bus a couple of minutes before first contact, when the Earth's shadow first brushes the moon, and got to watch the very beginning of the event as I walked up hill and home. Think I'll dust off the telescope and have a closer look.

ETA 7.21 pm: Moon's about half covered now. (I've been klutzing around with the telescope all this time with no success. :-)

ETA 7.28: Holy cow, it is turning red!

ETA 7.54: Totality. The moon is now a small orange-red disc, a little lighter on the side furthest away from the shadow. I watched the last minute or two before totality, and the moon was visibly changing colour and brightness.

ETA 9.30: Past third contact now, when the moon begins to emerge from the Earth's shadow.

ETA 9.47: Can barely see the red colour anymore. I guess about a third of the moon is still in shadow.

ETA 10.33: Jon and I sat on the steps by the gate and watched the last minutes of the eclipse together. :-)

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/doctor_k_/]

In Perth, we have a nice low layer of clouds : (

Moonrise is in 20 minutes - I think we'll see no eclipse action here tonight.

[darthanne.livejournal.com]

Here in Wellington with the low lying cloud couldn't see a thing, no stars no moon no nothing. And yet the other night, typically, clear sky and weather would have been perfect. :(

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

[mrteufel.livejournal.com]

8:30pm. It's as dark as an old dry wound...

[the-cockfighter.livejournal.com]

it was amazing and wild, to see the moon that red was even a little scary. the moon really does have a power.

And definitely not a portent of things to come.

[kateorman.livejournal.com]

No wonder Johnnie still won't give us the election date...

[gdwessel.livejournal.com]

All I saw was it was a full moon last night. Jen came home at 6am-ish and said there'd been an eclipse. I was pretty disappointed.

[matthewwolff.livejournal.com]

I could have caught it if I got up at 5 in the morning, but I couldn't have been arsed. I kind of wish I had, though.

[queeniefox.livejournal.com]

When there was one visible in the UK a while ago, I was really suprised by how much difference the colour made to my emotions - the spectacle seemed rather sinister and unsettling.

[hnpcc]

Melbourne was overcast (at least the bit where I was) so I missed seeing it again. :-( Last time (all of seven years ago, despite the TV's attempts to make me think this was very! very! really! rare!) we watched with binoculars which ended up making me really freaked out and having to go inside for a bit - the moon really does look like a big rock hanging unnaturally in the sky when you look up close without the reflected sun glare.

[qthewetsprocket.livejournal.com]

lucky! here on this part of the planet it didn't start turning pretty colors until around 4am or so...during which hour it is against my biochemical principles to be conscious. glad you got to enjoy it, though!