Dancing by the light of the Lunar Eclipse

This is not a picture of nothing. It is the lunar eclipse. Too bad, you can`t see what we saw....




My husband decided to build a bonfire and have us watch it. The eclipse occured on the same date as the Winter Solstice. He told me we would not be alive for the next occurence of an eclipse at this time of the year, since the last Winter Solstice and Lunar Eclipse happened in 1638, when Galileo pronounced that the earth revolved around the sun, not the other way around.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the sun, the earth, and the moon are perfectly aligned, with the earth in the middle, blocking the moon from the sun's rays. I realize this makes me sound all scientific and stuff, but I am not. I Googled it just like the rest of you.

So, at the time when all good children should be in bed, there we were out in the cold winter air, watching the eclipse. In our part of the world, it was cloudy, and the forecasters said that we might not be able to see it. But my husband was undeterred. That bonfire was built in faith that we would be able to watch it. And we did. The wind had a contest with the clouds - they would roll in, and the wind would blow them aside so we could see the progress. We could also see the stars poking through the clouds and my husband pointed out a few constellations to us.

I stayed out long enough to see that it was happening, and then I went inside to warm up my ears. Then I went back out. Then I went back in. I got the camera, but as you can see, it didn`t capture it. I am sure you can Google a great photo if you want to see what we saw (Little lamb...shepherd boy...mighty king...people everywhere). He and my son stayed out the whole time and watched, and built up the fire. When it was complete, it looked as if the moon was about to come shooting towards the earth.

I was so glad that I got to be a part of history, since I won`t be alive for the next Winter Solstice Lunar Eclipse. I am happy that we seized the moment, even if we lost some sleep. Now, what scientific process can I proclaim ....oh wait, my name is not Galileo.

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