Interesting skies once again! Tonight was a lunar eclipse. The timing was great, with totality being reached before midnight here in the Pacific Time Zone. But we are in the midst of a powerful Pacific storm, and I thought I wouldn't have a chance because of the cloud cover.
A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth ends up passing between the Sun and the Moon, and thus casting a shadow across the Moon's face. Lunar eclipses last longer than Solar eclipses because the Earth casts a much larger shadow, and it takes longer for the Moon to pass through it.
The most interesting part of a Lunar eclipse is during totality when the darkened Moon picks up a faint red glow (the "Blood Moon"). Numerous stars are usually visible at that time, being normally invisible when the Moon is full and bright.
Clouds moved in and I figured the Blood Moon view was not going to happen and I came in the house and started writing up the post. I took one more trip outdoors and was treated to the total eclipse. I could have hoped for a better shot, but no one here is complaining as the next storm moves in.
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