Thursday, February 21, 2008

Celestial Sightings, or, Lookin' at la Lune

I hope everyone who was able to saw the incredibly beautiful lunar eclipse last night! When I walked out of work in New London at 10 PM, the eclipse was beginning- the moon was an orangey-red and flanked by two bright celestial bodies- the planet Saturn and the star Regulus in the constellation of Leo. I stood outside with New London Harbor to my left and an unstarred sky (except for the eclipse and its attendants), completely awestruck. The last time I was this affected by something in the sky was the appearance of a comet (was it Halley's?) and I observed it while driving home at night. It's very plain to me how events like these can impact people's worldview, past and present.

It also struck me that getting annoyed at some students for being too loud was really...insignificant.

When I got home, the moon was fully eclipsed and we looked at it though binoculars- amazing! Then I periodically checked on the 'uneclipsing' of the moon, which was less colorful but no less beautiful.

Fun fact: Since I spotted the eclipse last night, Cher's 'Dark Lady' has been running endlessly through my head....enjoy!

2 comments:

C. Margery Kempe said...

Sure was purty, wasn't it -- pity it was such a cold night. Brrr! It's amazing how a chance happening -- one body's shadow passing another's -- can readjust your perspective on the universe.

Keep your eye on the mail -- a little enveloped coming your way.

CL said...

Arrrg!!
You just put a bad song in my head!

And no, I didn't see it...I slept through it.