It was very, very cold, and very very clear. The moon already had a small bite taken out of if as I got outside at 0215, and over the next hour I watched the black shadow eat more and more of the moons glittering body. All the while I listened to an excellent radio documentary about a photographer who operated in the brothels of Weimar Berlin in the late 1920s.
It rather fit the mood actually, smoky champagne soaked artistic tales told as the moon's bright disc was gradually more and more obscured by the Earth's shadow, and as it's dazzling glare was reduced you could see the blood red refracted light painting the moon with a burlesque club's ambience.
Totality was reached about 0315, and at that point I found myself too chilly to continue, and took myself off to bed as the moon had now come round to the bedroom side of my flat with that documentary still ongoing.
I kept dozing, and found more and more of the moon revealed as it began to free itself of the Earth's dark shadow, rebirth finding its way into my dreams of running, I think.
I took some photographs, just so you get an idea of what mobile phone pictures of an eclipse look like compared with all those super ones you'll have seen on the web and in the press today.
Si
All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 28.09.15
I didn't get any photos of the moon and I liked yours.
ReplyDeleteYour experience sounds very wonderful and memorable, Simon! The eclipse was at a much more reasonable hour here - it started around 6:00PM, just after moonrise. I got some great views and a few decent shots; clouds and mosquitoes not withstanding. Clouds obscured the totality and emergence, but it was still a wonderful thing to see.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments! It occurs to me my pics look like a lot of "UFO" pictures that you see!
ReplyDeleteA good experience Simon...............
ReplyDeleteAt least you stayed the course and got some images, well done.
I fell asleep :((
THanks Cheryl, yes, there were a lot of folk who couldn't prop their eyes open enough!
ReplyDeleteThis came hard on the heels of a spectacular sunset and rising harvest moon the previous evening
ReplyDeleteI got my resident astro-nut to wake me up around 2.45, so managed to see this.
And the stars were so clear when the moonlight faded too.
Well worth watching, thought I overslept next morning and had to warn my fellow walkers I was going to be late!
I watched the last part of the eclipse until the moon was covered.. I think I was outside for about an hour. Took some photos which are on my blog. Was worth losing a bit of sleep over. didn't really realise how cold I was until I got back into bed.. brrrrrr. :o)
ReplyDeleteIt was a very chilly night, and I didn't have any booze to fortify me as I thought I'd end up sleeping out there if I had a tot of rum.
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting everybody.