Crossing the Aurora Bridge on the way home from work tonight, I saw the moon hanging large and clear just above the shadows of the Cascades. But a slight section of the disc was missing from its lower left. I thought this odd and wondered if it might be the beginning of the lunar eclipse I had heard someone mention.
When I arrived home and looked at the moon again, I knew that the eclipse must indeed be in motion. I cooked my dinner (reheated spaghetti), turned out most of the lights in the house (neither Drew nor Lisa is home yet), and sat down to watch the moon through the window by the table. After supper, I turned out the remaining lights and moved outside.
The last bit of brightness disappeared at 7:23 by my watch, which jives with what I've now read on the internet. Judging from the arch of the earth's shadow as it slowly ate the moon, it will be a good while before the light once again shines in the darkness. But still, even with a planet's shadow across the moon's surface, there is light And the darkness cannot overpower it.
When I was a child, I remember my parents dragging me out of bed late one night to watch a lunar eclipse. If I recall correctly, we stood on the rocks of Pebble Beach in Door County, the sounds of Lake Michigan chewing on the shore. I didn't understand the excitement of what was happening, and I didn't understand why I needed to get up late at night to watch the moon. I do remember feeling frightened as the moon turned red.
Tonight I watched the moon alone, hearing the singing of cars on the freeway two miles distant and the occasional interruption of a closer vehicle or neighbor's dog. I haven't taken time to be quiet and watch and listen for quite a while. God and I had a chat. Light does shine in the darkness, though we cannot comprehend it.
Posted by jonhanneman at October 27, 2004 7:40 PMNice, Jon. We had cloud cover tonight so missed the sight.
Posted by: Mom at October 27, 2004 9:04 PM