Tuesday, December 21, 2010

My best lunar solstice eclipse, ever!

The gods were relatively kind last night. The low clouds around Tucson moved quickly so that the lunar eclipse was only obscured for a few minutes at a time.

One highlight for me was the minutes just before total eclipse when the moon was a blend of reds, browns, and tans with the last solar-lit arc forming a bright cap along the rim. The moon looked more like Mars, with a gleaming ice cap. When the sunlight came in from the other side, the colors faded quickly, so it felt like moving from color to black and white.

For us in the Tucson Mountains, it was mild night, with few lights, and the voices of neighbors carried lightly among the hills. Nice way to mark the solstice.

1 comment:

  1. Thank you for posting this! I didn't get to see it in person.

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