Lunar Eclipse

OK, last night’s total lunar eclipse was not as exhilarating as the total eclipse of the sun back in August 2017. Let’s just get that out of the way up front. HOWEVER, the lunar eclipse was very cool in its own right. More subtle for sure, but definitely worth staying up for and waiting out the clouds. The first portion of the eclipse was clouded out here in East Tennessee. The clouds were heavy, but you could still get glimpses of the lunar theater during the occasional clearing.

The forecast for clouds played out just as predicted a day earlier. The prediction was for clouds between 9:00 and 11:00 pm EST and that is how it played out. I had my doubts and almost packed up my gear a couple of times, but just before the period of the total lunar eclipse, probably close to midnight, the dense clouds cleared and the slice of the moon still outside the earth’s shadow shone brightly. As totality began, the orange disk was quite lovely. The stars were more apparent because the eclipsed moon was so dim. Very cool. I’m glad I waited it out.

Leading up to the lunar eclipse, the event was called a variety of terms like blood moon, wolf moon, super moon, and blood wolf super moon. Humbug. I personally don’t subscribe to hyped marketing terms like this, which I believe are promoted by news stations (especially the Weather Channel) to gain advertising revenue. No, it was a lunar eclipse and it was beautiful and that is all we need to call it. Soon, we’ll make up names for every storm that comes across the plains. Oh, we already do that, too.

I hope you got out to enjoy the eclipse with your own eyes. This image, like all images, is not worthy of the actual experience. The reality was worth some sleepy eyes today!

Have a great MLK holiday!