Image 1/20/2000 by Chris Rammacher

First Half of Lunar Eclipse

by Juan Wilson & Chris Rammacher

© 2000 The Gobbler: Winter Thaw

 

The Super Solstice on December 22nd turned out to be something of a bust. Although it was the conjunction of a full moon, winter solstice and closest encounter with the moon last year, it wasn't very dramatic. We anticipated a good show and even said in the Gobbler;

"We will witness a rare and significant sky event on December 22nd when the winter solstice, a full moon, and a lunar perigee occur simultaneously."

But, the fact of the matter was we froze our butts off standing around at midnight, in a freezing overcast, waiting for a show that never came off. Yeah we had some fun. There was a sweat lodge, hot chocolate and tea and a big outdoor fire... but the show was a dud.

However, just a few weeks later we got a real sky show. On Thursday, January 20th a lunar eclipse occurred. It was a clear night and about 11:30 we saw a dramatic shadow cross the moon. Good show!


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