Well...Missed It Again

 See that?

No, really...there's something there, just left of center, that thing with a red hue.

Yes, there it is--you see it.

It's the moon.

Last night's moon.

And it would have been incredible it it weren't for the clouds. The following hilarious tweet encapsulates perfectly how I felt:

Looks like my record of missing astrological rarities remains intact.

I seem to miss them all the time. One of the coolest things I did see was the eclipse a few years ago, but only a partial. I turned down a ride to see the total eclipse. My friend invited me to go to Wyoming with them. Missing a total eclipse was my fault. Last night's blood moon was missed because of the weather.

I went outside around 10pm our time. I saw a hazy--very hazy--moon low in the southern sky. Using my phone, I tried getting a picture of it. You can see how successful I was (wasn't...). I thought I'd try a few minutes later to allow the clouds to clear. Problem was, a few minutes later brought more clouds, so much so, you couldn't even see the where the moon was.

Truth be told, even if the moon was visible in a cloudless sky, I'd probably not get a good picture of it. I have the hardest time photographing the moon.

I keep thinking maybe when the next eclipse or comet or meteor shower comes around, my missing astrological rarities streak will be broken. I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

I Finally Got It...A Sharp Picture Of The Moon

Years ago, I'm not exactly sure how many, we were gifted a telescope from my father-in-law. A telescope is one of those things that many people get and enjoy, but it's also a thing that can sit in a corner and collect dust. 

If you've been following this blog for the past couple of weeks, you know we've been de-cluttering our home. You can probably guess what has happened to our telescope over the years. It wasn't used. It wasn't used because the small--and important--parts that make the telescope work, i.e. the small lenses you use that focus the object you're wanting to see close-up, were missing. They were put away and we didn't know where they were. Without the lenses, the telescope is basically a long tube on a tripod.

We even considered donating it to the thrift store.

But, that didn't happen--it didn't happen because my wife decided to clean up yet another room in the house. It was there she found the lenses that make the telescope work.

I couldn't wait to try it.

On the same day we found the lenses, I set up the telescope on the front porch as soon as night fell and an almost full moon rose in the east.

Finally, I could see the moon. My next goal--to get a picture.

I've been trying to get a good shot of the moon for years. I only had my iPhone cameras, my point-and-click cameras, and my Nikons. Nothing worked. I just got a big white ball in the sky. Now that I could see the moon, how was I going to take a picture. I ended up taking out my phone and holding it over the top of the lens. It took some patience, but I was finally able to get a good shot.

Twenty-four hours earlier, the whole family sat on the same porch watching a lunar eclipse and a blood moon. If we had only cleaned the room one day before, then the lenses would have been found and I could have set up the telescope during that amazing event. Oh well...next lunar eclipse/blood moon, I'll be ready!

Just Hanging Out...Looking At A Blood Moon

I read somewhere that it was coming. Good thing my wife was on a social media site Sunday evening or we'd probably have missed it. Sunday the earth passed between the sun and the moon and created a lunar eclipse. That amazing display was followed by a blood moon.

Very cool indeed!

There were a few disadvantages with our watching of these astrological events. First, it was cold. That happens in Utah in January. It wasn't as cold as it could have been, but it was cold enough. 

Second, this event took time. The fact that I didn't have to work the next day helped, but see Disadvantage #1 to see why Disadvantage #2 was a problem. 

Third, we had clouds. The cloud cover wasn't so bad that it ruined the evening, but when the lunar eclipse was completely blocking the moon and that red glow that gives a blood moon its name washed over the usually white object, the clouds moved in and blocked our view. I was lucky to snap a couple of pictures, neither of which was very clear, but it was clear enough to see what's in the photograph.

The whole family, minus our oldest child, decided to stand outside and look up and the night sky. It struck me as we all watched and waited, this will hopefully be one of those experiences that my children remember. As my kids get older, there's going to be fewer and fewer of these events. I look back on my childhood and remember things we did as a family. I don't suspect they'll remember that night every time they hear the phrase "blood moon," or "lunar eclipse," but they might. 

I hope to remember the night as well.