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Total lunar eclipse in northern California

Last night, there was a total lunar eclipse during the winter solstice, a combination that has not happened in 372 years. James Martin of CNET photographed the progression from Alameda.

The clearing of cloud cover, as the jet stream dipped southward, meant a cool clear night for us, in contrast to the warm (by December standards) night that we are having tonight. (The changed position of the jet stream also directed the succession of rainstorms that we had experienced, southward to Southern California). My wife reminded me of the lunar eclipse a little before 10:30 PM. California’s time zone (yeah, we share it with a few other western states) favors astronomical viewings sometimes, just as it favors the viewing of extra-inning baseball games. :-)

I made myself a bowl of popcorn and poured a glass of red wine. I watched a conversation on Facebook about the eclipse and made trips across the living room, from laptop and recliner to the sliding glass door to the deck, at regular intervals. The night was very crisp. The moon, from my location, went to a deep, dark, blood red (after the orange glow described by the CNET author) some time after the total eclipse at around 11:41 PM. I watched steadily for awhile as the eclipse became full, and for awhile afterward.

I had to laugh at around midnight when an artist friend called me on my business phone to make sure that I did not miss the full eclipse. I watched the night sky, with its stars made brighter by the dimmed red moon. Occasionally, a shooting star would pass, as they had the entire time I watched.

One sad thought that crossed my mind was that I had not spent so much time watching the night sky since we lived in Ohio, where I would watch the night sky from the warmth of a spa made in California. Now that we are in California… we have no spa! :-) The good news is that since I have not worked for any idiots in quite some time, my stress levels are much less. :-)

Enjoy Mr. Martin’s photos of the lunar eclipse, in case you live in one of the many areas of California in which viewing was obscured by clouds, or in some other place without a view of a total lunar eclipse!

Take time to enjoy nature’s rare wonders. You may want to talk about them to children or grandchildren (yours or those of others) someday.

-Bill at

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