21 February 2008
Lunar Eclipse & Bach
Did any of you happen to see the Lunar Eclipse last night? I was out at a fantastic classical piano concert by Piotr Andersewski (one of the many wonderful opportunities available here in CO that were not so available in AK) listening to Bach, Schumann, & Szymanowski (yeah, I hadn't heard of that last guy either). Piotr played with fervor and I enjoyed the emphasis and passion he put into the music as well as watching his hands. At intermission I went outside to grab a breath of fresh air and turned to look up at the sky, which had been very cloudy when I arrived at the concert hall. There it was, the moon shadowed a pale red from earth and directly above it the star Regulus (the brightest visible star in Leo) and below it twinkled Saturn, not a cloud anywhere to be seen. One side of the moon was darker then the other (according to Astronomy.com, the "northern limb of the moon lies closer to the center of the earth's shadow") and with it's reddish tint I thought of all the cultures that would have forecast something from this moment.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
it positively glowed orange here!
ReplyDeletemarvelous!
for some reason this makes me want to run wild.
ReplyDeletethe eclipse was great here in seattle too. beautiful clear, mild night. i caught the first half hour or so in a telescope (saturn was prettier) and followed the best and most colorful bits during a soccer game later. it was an inspiration on the field for sure. now if there was only someone on the sideline playing classical piano music...
ReplyDeleteAt the risk of picking a nit, Regulus is the brightest star in Leo. Rigel is the brightest star in Orion, which probably would have been below and to the left* of the moon during the eclipse.
ReplyDelete*Unless my hemispheres are all mixed up.
It was very pretty, though I watched from my back door. But you described it beautifully and I'm glad you were able to enjoy the evening as well as the eclipse.
ReplyDeleteWasn't it great? We kept checking on it every 10 minutes or so. It was cloudy at about 6pm so I wasn't all that hopeful, but it had mostly cleared for the start of the eclipse at 7.
ReplyDeleteWhat I really want is to see a full solar eclipse. I saw a partial one once and it was incredibly cool seeing the moon take a bite out of the sun. But I really want to see that diamond ring effect.
I missed it.
ReplyDeleteBut the moment you describe--the music,the moon, the stars--sounds so beautiful. You write of such beauty in your life.
sounds gorgeous. it was raining here, and I missed it.
ReplyDelete*THAT* sounds like it was so incredibly beautiful. I was in class... mores the pity, as I would have LOVED to see it.
ReplyDeleteAs it was, I did tell everyone I know about it, in hopes that I would get some kind of second hand review... but none were as good as yours. Thank you, I could almost see it through your eyes.
Scarlett & Viaggiatore
CO? Are you here in Colorado then?
Isn't it lovely?
Even here in cloudy Seattle we saw it. Spectacular!!!
ReplyDeleteEver seen a total eclipse of the sun? Wow!
Sounds amazing, unfortunately I did not see it.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, we were out and completely missed it. But it sounds beautiful. Isn't it funny how human cultures have always ascribed supernatural causes to natural phenomena we don't understand?
ReplyDeleteWe missed it here but it sounds beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI was INSANE that day, that night, it really messed me up!
ReplyDeleteOh thank you for describing it. It was totally overcast here and we couldn't see a thing!
ReplyDeleteDid have a nice glimpse last night of Orion directly overhead. Did some family stargazing.
I wonder if any cultures still DO forecast based on the moon. Surely so.
liv, glad you saw it!
ReplyDeletejen, run wild girl, I'll join in.
matte, oooo, you had a telescope?? I'm jealous.
chuck, groan, you are ABSOLUTELY right, I fumbled again. Clearly I need to do some more pre-post editing (another friend of mine has complained about that too). I don't know why you keep reading but I'm glad you do.
post-doc, thanks! Glad you got to see it too.
cae, it was fantastic. I have never seen a full solar eclipse either. When's the next one?
bean-mom, thank you! Sorry you missed it.
ReplyDeletemaypole, bummer!
Scarlett, good to hear from you again! Indeed, I am in your fine state at the moment, visiting for an undefined amount of time. Want to meet up some time??
meno, no I haven't, have you??? I'd love to hear about it.
dj, sorry you missed it but there are lovely photos to be found online of it.
mad hatter, oh indeed, I suppose it was one way of making things less frightening?
dancingfish, oh, it was.
crazymumma, ooo - sorry to hear that. Hope it was on the good side.
julie, you are welcome! I'm sure there are plenty of cultures that do forecast based on the moon. I know that my own body does when I'm living without electric lights!
If you're in Denver, I am game for that! Let's get lunch.
ReplyDeleteSend me an email and we'll get something figured out.
So, are the disreputable animals with you too?
Scarlett & Viaggiatore (he's actually in Lyon, France right now, so there is no worry of Lions and Dogs and Kitties... oh my)
Scarlett, yep, both Disreputables are with me...they wouldn't take too kindly to storage like the rest of my stuff. I will send you an email when I next have plans to go to Denver to visit my sister and her crew of rugrats!
ReplyDelete