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Winter Solstice Total Eclipse

Two nights ago, while most of you were in bed sleeping the sleep of angels your intrepid blog host was out in the crisp Florida air taking pictures of a unique astronomical event.   After a jarring phone call at 2:30 from my lovely daughter telling me what I already knew by reading the papers that morning. I arose from my nice electrically warmed bed to proceed to the dog-walk area to take pictures of this impressive happening. 

A total eclipse of the moon coinciding with winter solstice won't happen again till 2095. By then your loyal blogger may have a different perspective.

Night photography is tough for me. I don't have the knowledge or equipment for truly startling images, but these seem to be the best I can do. Hope you enjoy it. Now, I'm going to bed.

I have learned how to add text to pictures.

At this point it was around 4:40 am.


The reddish tint in the early pictures is due to the earth's atmosphere draining the usual blues and grays.  Well, that's what my astronomer friends tell me. 

Speaking of the skies, I used to arise in the early morning hours to see the special sights such as Comet Kahoutek, Halley's Comet, Comet Hyakutake, and Hale-Bopp.  I remember Kahoutek happened in college and became quite a fun campus event.  It turned out to be a dud, but our astronomy professor, "Kookoo" Robinson, sponsored a viewing with the school's big telescope had all of us students doubling over with laughter when he couldn't spot the comet in the sky.  Flustered and frazzled he finally discover what we already suspected, he forgot to take the lens cap off.  This professor was renowned for flaky behavior, such as combing one side of his head and leaving the other wild.  Apparently he would forget to comb both sides.  Guess his mind had trouble relating to such mundane tasks. 

     

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