Sunday, December 11, 2011

Lunar eclipse

I am normally in bed by 9:30. Tetsu claims the TV after dinner and usually watches sports. If I have hand quilting or piecing to do I sometimes bear with the sports just to get my handwork done but I really look forward to reading in bed for 30 minutes or so. In the morning, Choco and the cats let us know that they are ready for breakfast around 5:30 and I don't find it that difficult to get out of bed, feed them and take a walk.

Last night throughout Japan, a full lunar eclipse was visible from 9:45 to 11:50. And it was a cold clear night so the moon was lighting up the countryside! And the eclipse won't be visible in Japan again for another 11 years. It seemed to me that a lunar eclipse was something to stay awake for.

Interesting... I'm not knowledgeable about astronomy so I probably didn't appreciate what I was seeing... Yes, that's the moon... Yes, it looks like a cloud is covering the moon.... Yes, the moon is hidden more than it was 30 minutes ago. This must be the eclipse!

Unfortunately, it is impossible to take a picture of a lunar eclipse with my little Sony digital camera. My hands wobbled. All I got was a spot in the sky or an orange blob. (Did you know that when the eclipse is full, the moon, hidden in the shadow of the earth, turns orange? It really did!)

At 11:50 I took my last glance of the moon from the front yard.

"Yep. That's the moon. Yep. I can now say I have seen the eclipse. Time for bed."

This morning Tetsu and I woke up after 7:00. Late for us! The cats were cranky and Choco was desperate for a potty run. I blame it on last night's eclipse.

And since I stayed up and took the pictures I'm posting them though I know they look like blobs.

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