Wandering out to watch the eclipse

[rabidsamfan]

The start of it anyway. It's too cold to watch the whole thing.

Isn't there something amazing about looking on a phenomenon you learned about in books?

ETA: 10:02 and we've achieved totality. And any werewolves in the Boston area are wishing desperately that the fur will come back soon because it's bloody FREEZING out there.

I'll go peek again about 10:30, and might watch a while as the light comes back after all... Eclipses are soooo cool. Even when it's cold!

ETA2: 10:39. Popped out to look at the middle of totality -- you can tell it's not a "direct hit" of the center of the earth's umbra this time because earlier the right limb of the moon was a bit brighter and now the lower limb is brighter, but it's still a lovely red moon. And the cloudiness that was a bit in the way has gone. Being me, I accosted a passing stranger and said, 'did you see the moon?' interrupting his cell phone conversation with a blithe indifference to the person at the far end. Young stranger looked up, did a doubletake and said, 'Holy shit!' in tones of awe. Then he thanked me for pointing it out and went on his way, telling his cell phone about the moon.

I love being a geek.

Comments

[aeb.livejournal.com]

{GRIN} I hope the weather is good for watching. Eclipses are neat. {SMILE} I think I'm in the wrong part of the world to catch this one, but the last one I saw was fun. {SMILE}

Anne Elizabeth Baldwin

[rabidsamfan.livejournal.com]

If you can see the sky tonight, you can see the eclipse. Go outside and look. The moon is as rusty as an old Ford.

[aeb.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately I'm in Hawai'i, which is two hours later than California at this time of year. I think by the time the sun goes down and the moon comes up, the best part of this eclipse will be over. {Lop-sided Smile}

Anne Elizabeth Baldwin

[rabidsamfan.livejournal.com]

Nooo, Hawaii is a bit farther west than this one will show... Ah, well. Better luck in 2010.

[aeb.livejournal.com]

I had better luck in 2007! {REALLY BIG GRIN} I'm still delighted with how well that turned out. The clouds finished coming in just after the moon went total at our house! {REALLY BIG GRIN, HUMONGOUS GRIN}

Anne Elizabeth Baldwin

[aeb.livejournal.com]

I did get to see a bit of that eclipse after all. We spotted it when it was about half eclipsed, and just visible over the neighbor's house. We got to continue to watch it while we went down to a concert tonight. The last clear view just had a tiny piece out of the top. {Smile, SMILE}

Anne Elizabeth Baldwin

[belleferret.livejournal.com]

I was getting rather concerned peering out the window as it was clouding over a bit earlier, but just before 10 pm the clouds cleared away and there it was, a lovely copper trimmed in lighter shades, giving it a three dimensional appearance. I bundled up and sat on the porch for a few minutes to gaze at it.

Back inside where it's warm now, but well worth the brief chill!

[rabidsamfan.livejournal.com]

I'm going out to take one more peek and then I'm hiding...

[periantari.livejournal.com]

I was watching it too-- it's really cold here as well though-- we do get it again in October though i think.

[rabidsamfan.livejournal.com]

Not till 2010 if the reports I read this morning were right. Pretty ain't it?

[periantari.livejournal.com]

Yeah it's really cool..seeing the moon clouded up like that is pretty unusual. Yes you are right about 2010. There is a solar eclipse in August 1, 2008 according to Wikipedia.

[rabidsamfan.livejournal.com]

Oooh, I shall have to see where it will be visible! (The solar eclipse, that is.)

[claudia603.livejournal.com]

So clear here and was able to see it perfectly!

[rabidsamfan.livejournal.com]

You still can, of course. Ain't it a pretty shade of red?

[elasg.livejournal.com]

Finally got my camera to quit trying to think for me and got at least one good picture. It's wicked cold out, but it was worth braving for the kewl show!

[rabidsamfan.livejournal.com]

Isn't it astonishing! Amazing! These things really happen! They're REAL!

[sayhello.livejournal.com]

So you convinced me to bundle up in the warmest cold weather gear I own, and go outside in the frigid 11 degree temps to look at the eclipse. And it's really, really cool. I wished I had my tripod, because these were the best shots I could manage. At least got sort of an image...

Hewene

[rabidsamfan.livejournal.com]

You got the color anyway. And I kind of like that trailing image... It's lovely in a "ooh, what if my imaginary werewolf were fainting" kind of way...

The best lunar eclipse photos I ever got were *mumble* years ago in high school. I lined up my father's binoculars and my mothers camera on the roof of a car...

I think one of 'em might have been in focus. Maybe. But oh, the fun of trying!

I love the way the light is coming back from the bottom this time, though.

[sayhello.livejournal.com]

Thanks. *Somewhere* I have a tripod which might have helped (any time-lapse shots were just *too* blurry). But I'm glad I at least got something...

I think this is the first time I've gotten a really good look at such an almost complete eclipse. The red glow is great, and the glow from the bottom right adds to the coolness. Why does this stuff happen in February???

Hewene

[rabidsamfan.livejournal.com]

I like watching the shadow come over the moon and go away too. The last time I really could watch it was the more classic "shadow crosses over from one direction to the other" kind of eclipse, but this one you can tell that the moon is only in part of the earth's shadow, because the last bit of light that left was to one side, but now that the light is coming back the bottom of the moon is shining first.

Eclipses happen other times of year too, but we don't always have the clear skies we do in February. There are some advantages to cold weather!

[lame-pegasus.livejournal.com]

And any werewolves in the Boston area are wishing desperately that the fur will come back soon because it's bloody FREEZING out there.

*giggles* That screams for fanfiction.

[rubynye.livejournal.com]

Goodness, yes. *steals for next story about a werewolf*

[mariole.livejournal.com]

Argh, I forgot to look! Thanks for this lovely report. :)

[shirebound]

Wish I could have joined you! Our skies were comletely cloud covered last night.