Lunar Eclipse 2008
In case you missed it, there was a total lunar eclipse last night. I was very excited about trying out my new camera and taking some pictures of it, but when I looked out my window last evening around sunset I was shocked to see that it was cloudy.
I said a few choice words because, dammit, I live in the high desert these days and I couldn’t believe that the one day that I wanted to look at the night sky was also going to be the one day of the year it was going to be cloudy.
However, as they say around these parts, if you don’t like the weather here wait five minutes and it will change. As I knew the most interesting view of the eclipse wasn’t scheduled until about an hour and a half after sunset I decided to take this advice to heart and wait for a while before giving up on my photographic ambitions.
I peeked out of the curtains several times while waiting for the beginning of the eclipse and was pleased to see that the clouds appeared to be thinning out. Finally I looked out the window and to my great satisfaction, the clouds around the moon had vanished and a chunk of it seemed to have disappeared: The eclipse was underway!
I gathered up my camera and headed outside to find a decent viewing spot, but unfortunately I live on a main street in town that had too many lights blaring to get a photogenic view of the eclipse. Not to be discouraged, I hopped into my car and headed over to a friend’s who not only lives on an extremely dark street, but just so happened to have a tripod as well.
I took a plethora of pictures just before the lunar eclipse became total and although point and shoot astrophotography is challenging, managed to take a few that turned out rather nicely if I do say so myself.
I then spent the rest of the time enjoying the spectacular view of the rust-colored moon while sitting on the porch at my friend’s house enjoying a mild winter night in west Texas. And just as the eclipse was ending, the clouds returned.
21 February 2008 at 01:46
High desert, right. In Las Vegas we had complete cloud cover followed by rain! Oh, well, we should never complain about the rain, since we only get 4 inches a year.
21 February 2008 at 07:45
Thanks for the great shot of the eclipse! It started pretty late here for us. Rob and I went out to look when it had just started around 10:30 at night. We watched for a while, but didn’t get to see as much as you, because to add to the lateness, it also snowed yesterday. It was cold out there! This is a great picture, though, and now I don’t feel so disappointed that I missed out on seeing it myself.
21 February 2008 at 08:27
Great picture! I will have to show Mac later. We didn’t get to see it since it was very cloudy here last night.
21 February 2008 at 09:03
The saying about the weather is funny–I’ve heard that Mark Twain said it about New England. My friend in Oklahoma told me that Will Rogers said it about OK. So then I looked it up: if you wait 5 minutes, the weather will change in North Carolina, Texas, and Colorado. If you wait *10* minutes in Montana, Ireland, Indiana, the Midwest, Melbourne, Aukland, and Taos, the weather will change. It’s an hour for Naples, FL. Even on Jupiter, you just have to wait. You only have to blink if you’re in Vermont. Halifax takes 15 minutes. Over 6000 references. But I’m glad you waited, the pictures are very good.
21 February 2008 at 17:18
I think you did a great job Renee! I didn’t even bother trying because I need a tripod!
21 February 2008 at 20:31
We poor here in Australia didn’t get to see the eclipse so thank you very much for your beautiful photo. Whish I could have seen it for real as well.
22 February 2008 at 12:21
I also was quite taken with the eclipse and had a perfect view from my apartment parking lot. Silly me I never even thought to photograph it so thanks for posting the picture.
I sat bundled up outside (it’s quite cold up here in Rhode Island) and stared dreamily at the sight. I love “sky gazing” as a way to collect my thoughts. I find all things to do with the stars and space particularly fascinating.
I am glad you shared in the wonder of the event too!