The Total Lunar Eclipse of the Full Super Harvest Hunter's Blood Moon

I drove up onto the flats to get a view of the Harvest Moon well before it would crest the ridge at our house.

It was peaceful. Cattle grazed and the yips of coyotes echoed in the still spaces.

Two respectable bucks came out of the aspens--four-by's. "Four-by" is short for "four-by-four" or, as they would say in the east, an eight-point. They reminded me that the other name for this full moon is the Hunter's Moon.

The recent fires that scarred this area seemed like a distant dream.

The sun went down...

...and the moon came up. It was already eclipsed as it cleared the tree line. As it rose ever higher into the darkening sky it took on substance and became a vibrant blood moon.

Later, as the earth's shadow slid away, the light of the Super Moon burst into full brilliance.

It was a lovely show.

Blood Moon

I went out for the eclipse Wednesday morning--totality beginning at 3:45 AM PDT--hoping to take some photos, but we still had a thin cloud cover. The crescent was hazily visible, but with totality everything disappeared behind the clouds.

So I was glad to see that my nephew in Brooklyn, N. Y. had gotten a superb photo. He says it had been rainy and overcast all night, but cleared up beautifully just in time for the eclipse. Very, very nice. 

Blood Moon, Brooklyn, N. Y., October 8, 2014

Photo by Jordan David Albright

200 mm lens, f5.6, shutter speed 2.5, ISO 320

Full Moon Puts On Show, Makes Some Happy

The Hunter's Moon, being eclipsed here by gathering clouds. Those willing to stay up or get up early can see it, weather allowing, eclipsed by the rising sun in a total eclipse. It's also a Blood Moon.

Me, I'm mostly like these guys. Full moons just make me happy.

Illustration by Theodor Kittelsen.

Eclipse Report: Clouds Eclipse Eclipse

Going...

Going...

Gone.

Oh well. We'll have another chance on October 8.

Bad Moon Rising

Just dropped over to EarthSky. Glad I did. Big news!

There will be a total eclipse of the full moon tonight, April 14 - 15. Mars, the Red Planet, is the closest and brightest in 6 years, and will be visible near the red moon. Look for the star Spica, too.

This is known as a Blood Moon. Some people, of a particular religious or superstitious bent, believe this moon, and the three other Blood Moons occurring in 2014 and 2015--four in a row--are signs of the Apocalypse. Yes, that Apocalypse.

If you insist on getting all worked up about that, fine. Go for it. But if you have an open mind and are interested in learning more, you might find this link helpful:

A Christian Astronomer Talks About Blood Moons

I've already said on this blog that I'm a believer. And I believe that the End of the World is the Creator's department. I hope to be ready, whenever it is.

Meanwhile, I will be praying. I'll be praying that the skies are clear over north central Washington State tonight.

Looking Good, Moon!

Like billions and billions of humanoids who preceded me on this planet, I love the moon. I like knowing that the moon I gaze at is the same one they gazed at. For all of us, the moon has always been a faithful companion, shining down on everyone, whether we deserve it or not, and lighting up both our happiest times, and the dark nights of our souls.

For me and many fly fishermen, the moon has also been a welcome fishing partner, extending time on the water, and transforming our lakes and rivers into magical places.

The moon rose full over the eastern ridge last Friday evening (it was around 4:40 in the afternoon, for Pete's sake) and I took this shot thinking of a series of moon shots culminating in the total eclipse early Saturday morning.

But when I went out a little later I found that the moon had slipped behind the cloud cover where it would stay for the next 48 hours. I did say the moon is faithful--and it was up and shining away--but, like us, it is sometimes influenced by circumstances beyond its control.

So I got my usual beauty sleep Friday night and didn't get up at 4:45 AM to see the beginning of the eclipse.

Fortunately, Joseph Brimacombe, of Cairns, Australia, did get up and captured an impressive image of the eclipse in all its glory.

Looking good, Moon!

This is from The Universe Today. (And, for all you science geeks out there, here's a link to the site I found it on, billed as "the place to find science and engineering on the web.")

Photographer Joseph Brimacombe created this stunning image of a ruddy Moon made during the total lunar eclipse of December 10, 2011. Images taken during the penumbral and total phases of the eclipse were combined to create a full-face image of the Moon in color. Beautiful!

The red tint of the Moon during an eclipse is caused by sunlight passing through Earth’s atmosphere, in effect projecting the colors of all the world’s sunsets onto the Moon’s near face. The vibrancy and particular hue seen depends on the clarity of the Earth’s atmosphere at the time of the eclipse.

Joseph’s location in Cairns, Australia allowed for great viewing of the eclipse in totality, whereas many areas of North and South America and Europe missed the full eclipse event.