Did you see the eclipse?
February 2008 lunar eclipse, as seen from central Florida. (Photo by blueid_bbw)
The total eclipse of the moon on February 20 was the last one we’ll see until December 2010.
Did you see it?
Here’s what a few members of our EarthSky community had to say about it:
Carol said:
I can see three rays of light from each side of the moon!!! How beautiful it is!!
Dawn said:
Great view of the eclipse tonight. The moon glowed a pale burgundy and then a golden copper. Saturn and Regulus were also very bright. Awesome sight!
EarthSky’s Larry Session said:
Here in Denver we had a number of observing parties planned, but were completely clouded out — didn’t see a thing!
Kat said:
What a view from Mason Ohio! I do wish we owned a telescope though … Our kids thought it was well worth staying up for and I have to agree. Can’s wait for 2010!
Tell us how it looked to you, in the comments below …
I made my kids stay up to see it. At first they were complaining, then my son said This is better than TV!
I missed it! I think it may have been too cloudy here to see anything. Any reports from east Tennessee?
Got my husband and daughter out to see it up jsut 30 miles north of Chicago! An exceptionately clear night, but fridgid, Brrr! The Moon was amazing, It hung there a rusty red orange and looked so close, my daughter,10, said it looked like you could tie a string on it, like a balloon.
Waaoooo!!!...Regulus and Saturn Rock!!..AAhhh.The Moon ???..Wonderful…From Tampa Florida
Waaa! I missed it! Cloudy. :-(
Beautiful from Columbia, SC; grateful for a clear sky…
It was so cloudy here in Northeast Tennessee, we sent the kids to bed at 8:30. Then the clouds started to break up and while we didn’t have a completely unobstructed view, there enough patches in the clouds to make it worth getting the kids out of bed around 9:00. We were able to see it from inside the house until about 9:45. Then we went outside and watched until 10:10 or so. Around the 10:00 totality time we got a huge break in the clouds for a great view of the red-orange moon. The kids loved it.
Yes, we saw the eclipse from upstate New York at Clarkson University’s Reynolds Observatory! Clouds alternately came in and went, but the lighting on the swarming clouds actually made things look all the more beautiful and mysterious. Great night, despite temperatures hovering close to 0 degrees Fahrenheit. Everybody especially enjoyed seeing Saturn’s rings and Saturn’s largest moon, Titan!
Bruce
My husband and I got a great view from St. Augustine, FL after 9:00pm. It was beautiful!
i missed it. was cloud.
Cloudy at home in San Marcos, I guess there’s always 2010…
Beautiful clear night; couldn’t have asked for more perfect viewing conditions. We watch it from start to finish and were awe struck at the beauty and colors ranging from brownish red to yellow orange. The Chinese used to think a dragon was swallowing the moon and would make lots of noise to scare if off, in ancient times. I think here in modern times, the traffic noise does the job just as well… :-)
Best lunar eclipse I’ve ever seen, either here in Tallahassee, Florida or elsewhere!
My girlfriend and me watched it together. I wish there was one every month!
It was partly cloudy at first here but then about 9:45 it totally cleared. It was gorgeous! Very crispy cold, about 20. I banged on the neighbor’s door and had them come out and watch with me until it went totally coppery dark. Really lovely sight here out on the tip of Cape Ann, MA
I meant to see it but I fell asleep! Any good discriptions from southern CA?
I lay out in the cold (19 degrees at 9:00) for nearly 2 hours and watched the moon from the rocky coast of Maine. My nearly 16 yr. old son took amazing photos but only stayed for half the show. It was so beautiful, so incredible to have the night noises, the shooting stars (I saw a dozen, the darker it got the better they were), and constellations I’ve never seen before…I stayed until I was full….and then went in to write and read poetry of the moon. 50 years old and still awed by the incredible beauty and force it has on us…
Hope this thread is still going…saw it last night…lovely,lovely,lovely. But,in St. Louis there were 3 stars? planets? that formed a perfect triangle with the moon centered (for awhile)and (duh) I don’t know who they were. Can anyone help? I guessed Venus Saturn and Mars???
Dear Ginia:
this earth and sky article might explain what you saw
http://www.earthsky.org/skywatching/stars-near-moon-during-total-eclipse-on-feb-20
Writing from the (often) foggy San Francisco Bay Area. I was on Angel Island for an overnight field trip with my 33 fifth graders. As we left camp for our evening hike, the moon was visible only as a darkish haze behind the clouds and fog. Within a half hour, the fog broke, and we had an amazing view of the eclipsed moon. Our path became brighter and brighter as time passed. One student asked, “Did you order this for tonight?”
We had just about perfect viewing conditions from our backyard in suburban Boston. Before things got going, my 12 year old son informed me, “Mom, I want to see a solar eclipse. I’ve already seen enough lunar eclipses for a lifetime.” I informed him that I thought it was a very sad commentary (my response was issued with some humor) that he was that jaded at age 12. Ultimately, I was able to coax him and his twin sister out into the chilly night about five or six times to view the splendor through my binoculars. We were very lucky and this 47 year old Mom can never see too many lunar eclipses!!
We have seen the sky maybe 4 times in the last 2 months (MI), but it totally cleared up the day before the eclipse. It was excellent viewing. Since I teach, I encouraged my students to view it. I would say I had about a 95% participation rate. What a shocker! Students came in with cameras, cell phones and CD’s with pictures of the eclipse. In 35 years of teaching, this has never happened!
I’m sure it’s something they will never forget and nor will I.
My first,NEAT. Worth standing in the cold to watch(glad I wasn’t the only one that thought it looked like a baloon).
It was gorgeous in the SF Bay Area! I only caught glimpses of it near the end of its change, first when the top half of the moon was obscured, and then when only a tiny portion was still dark. But it was quite dramatic.
It was fantastic! The sky was clear, the moon bright. Even saw the triangle. It was brillent! Can we do it again soon?
24+ Feb 2008(Date deminishing, as I grow tired).
Pretoria, South Africa. Bit cloudy, but good sigthting of Moon. Have seen much better eclipses before . . . but maybe I am older than a lot of you.
HT
it was so cool it was worth waiting for i want it to be 2010 already!it looked like a ball of fire
it was so cool it was worth waiting for i want it to be 2010 already!it looked like a ball of fire