Hey, did you see the eclipse last week? The wolf moon, the shadow of the earth, and the moon turning red was the highlight of last week. Maybe you missed it. It was at 2:00 o’clock in the morning. Last is the trouble with lunar eclipses. They happen at night. A total eclipse of the sun is a much bigger deal and it happens during the daytime.
I’m not a big moon tracker or astronomer by any means. I don’t keep up with the cycles of the moon. It is pretty to look at a nice full moon on a clear night though. When there is an event like this, I try to at least make an effort to see these spectacular events.
I went to bed early and got up about two o’clock. My wife stayed up all the way to the event. I dressed and my wife was downstairs telling me that the eclipse had begun. The moon was high in the sky and you could see the shadow beginning to hide the moon. You could tell that there was a tint of red and all that stuff.
I went into the yard to gaze at this marvel. Sleepy, I was sleepy. It is two o’clock. With the moon high in the sky, it was necessary to look straight. I felt like I was off balance and could just fall over. My head was tilted back, I’m standing in the dark and it is two o’clock and if I close my eyes I’m likely to fall asleep and fall to the ground. If I fall could I get back up or would I just lie there until morning? I managed not to fall but my mind wanted me to lie down and get a better look at this strange event.
Wonder what people were thinking when something like this occurred thousands of years ago. Imagine what a show this would be. There would be no electric lights polluting the sky. There would be more stars, planets and the glorious moon gradually disappearing. Would this strange thing that gave off light during the night be going away? What was the matter? Some nights this thing was just a sliver and other nights it was bigger and some nights it was big and bright. Imagine the puzzlement of trying to figure out what this thing was.
We do have the advantage of modern science and all the things we know about the cycles of the moon and the movement of the planets, stars and the solar systems. That is good for us up to a point.
When you stand alone gazing at the sky in the quiet while trying to visualize the enormity of space, this can be rather intimidating. What is really going on? How does all this work and the sad part is I’m just a little tiny person standing here watching the earth’s shadow block out the light reflected from the moon. If this freaks me out, what might early humans think of this? It does blow your mind. I did manage to stay standing and watched about thirty minutes of the changing of the moon’s appearance. Thought about how small I am compared to the enormity of the universe and all those things.
It was a good experience though. Standing in the cool night air and not hearing cars or a bunch of noise was rather refreshing. Quiet and seeing this great event does have a calming effect on you. I was contemplating all of this and enjoying the moment when suddenly a dog barked.
