Eclipse

As I write this, the Moon is in eclipse.  Or, as the news services proclaim it, tonight we have a "Super Blood Wolf Moon." 

I've seen many a lunar eclipse, but they never fail to entertain.  Even having known since childhood the mechanics of an eclipse, even knowing that the exact date and time of every eclipse can be predicted centuries in advance, the actual event still induces a small, primal chill to run up and down my spine.

Imagine how it appeared to our ancestors, people who were far more attuned to events in the sky than are we in our cities with all our light pollution.  The full moon comes up as usual.  And then, someone looks up and notices a small nibble being taken out of the edge.  More and more disappears.  Finally, only a small portion remains -- the north "polar ice cap," as it appeared tonight -- but a blood-red disk emerges into view.  What were they to make of it?  Harbinger of war, or disease, or other disaster?

What a relief when, an hour later, the dull red disk once more begins to be re-lit.  And, of course, if prayers and sacrifices had been offered as a way to bring back the moon, their efforts were clearly proved successful.

The eclipse was clearly visible from my front window, the Moon's disk slowly being eaten away as it rose higher in the sky.  The last half hour, I observed it from my back yard, standing like an idiot in wet grass and in near-freezing temperatures.  But we scientists are used to hardships.

The official time for totality was to be 8:41 P.S.T.  I can announce that in my back yard, at least, the north "polar ice cap" (as it appeared) did not disappear entirely until 9:05 p.m. at the earliest.  The disparity was probably due to where my house lies in the P.S.T. time zone.

But it was a pleasant experience, watching the eclipse unfold.  Even in the cold, even in the wet grass.  Orion looked quite handsome, standing off to the right of the Moon, and what I believe to be Sirius was shining brightly blue down closer to the southern horizon.   I realized how seldom, here in the city, I look up at the heavens.

Well, after all.  This is Seattle.  What's there to see but clouds?  We struck it lucky tonight with clear skies.

But I neither saw nor heard any wolves.