Last week was an important week for you if you are an astronomer. If not, well it was probably just another week. But for us (astronomers) it was a Lunar Eclipse, and not just any Lunar Eclipse, but one of the longest in a while, for a while. So we all did our weather dances and sought help from the Gods/God for clear skies. It seems they/She/It wasn’t listening and our dances were ill-received as most of the US was clouded out. Here in the southeast US, we had hazy thin clouds. Knowing that a shot like the above wouldn’t be possible I opted to stream the event. Here’s a link to the LIVE stream on YouTube:
The four hour-ish event was well-received from most aside from some irritation for the trees at the observatory. I mentioned that the BAS is a 501C3 and happy to accept donations to cut the trees, but I didn’t receive any funds. It was fun and aside from fighting equipment problems, the high clouds, and general exhaustion. I’m hoping the next eclipse can be done on a permanent setup in our Dome at the Observatory instead of the portable rig. Being setup beforehand just makes everything easier.
So here’s the high light real if you don’t want to spend time watching the live stream. I hope you enjoy it and if you want, feel free to make a donation to the Barnard Astronomical Society of Chattanooga- www.barnardstar.org or click the logo below. Highlight real after the logo/link.
As always, thanks for reading/watching and clear skies!
matt