Exceptional Celestial Events
In the past 6 months we have been lucky to observe three exceptional celestial events. And thanks to good timing, Keegan was able to witness all three (even if he may not remember them).
We started off with a spectacular Lunar Eclipse on December 10, 2011. We were lucky the eclipse happened early in the morning, around 5.30 am and Keegan woke up earlier than usual that day (did he feel the special event happening?). We were all treated to a spectacular, blood red, over-sized moon. (of course none of the great pictures in these post are mine…thank you Google images)
The view from San Diego…
… and from Turret Arch at Arches National Park located near Moab, Utah
Then, on May 20, 2012 we had a partial solar eclipse. It does not seem like we will ever be able to see a total eclipse in our lifetime, so this was probably the closest we would ever get. Once again, the timing could not have been more perfect: Sunday, mid-afternoon. Of course we mobilized at the last minute, so all the eclipse glasses were gone, but I have found one old pair I have gotten many years ago. See, being a pack rat sometime has its benefits.
We drove east, since there were forecasts of thick marine layer on the coast, and luckily we only had to go as far as Lake Murray, a nice reservoir/park close to La Mesa. There is a nice walking trail, and ducks and other aquatic animals to entertain a 4 years old.
We took turns with the glasses and got a glimpse of a really remarkable event. It may have not been as amazing as it was in Japan (a full annular eclipse), but still it was a spectacular sight.
We watched most of the eclipse at the park, and as the sun set at home, we caught a last glimpse.
the whole eclipse somewhere in California (or so it seems)
the view from the OB pier: you probably did not even need glasses
close to the maximum eclipse phase
The final event happened on June 5, 2012 when Venus could be seen in transit in front of the sun. While definitely less spectacular than the other events, it was also pretty interesting…once you could actually see it, that is. Again, perfect timing: Tuesday afternoon, after the marine layer lifted off. With my trusty eclipse glasses I could actually track a small, tiny black dot over the face of the sun. Keegan was not too impressed, but he did enjoy watching: lately he has been really interested in everything space-related.
Thank you to Google Images, though, I can show some spectacular images. The real thing looked nothing like that, but who cares?
this was more like what we saw, but 1000 smaller
