The eclipsed moon finally made itself visible only minutes from totality this evening. Through the gauzy haze the lopsided apparition loomed in the eastern sky. We pointed the 18 ” telescope at it, but with its narrow field of view we could only gaze at part of the moon at a time. With the haze and the low contrast, only washed out moonscape was visible. An eclipsed moon is best witnessed with the naked eye or from binoculars.
We found Mars and Saturn in open patches of the sky. Saturn was sharper than I’ve seen it in while. The rings and planet in sharp relief against the black velvet background. Titan and a few other moons were to be seen as well.
A line of visitors queue around the dome and down the stairs to see the planets and M42, the Great Nebula of Orion. We’re lucky this evening. The clouds parted and the wondrous sky was made visible.
Lamentations on Chemistry 
Not sure what all the fuss was about. It was my first lunar eclipse. Dark orange-black, lasting about an hour. Snapped some blurry photos for posterity. Clear, crisp skies where I watched it so I suppose it was ‘as good as it gets’. Likely, a telescope would have provide some texture.
My most interesting observation was to see people on every street standing in the icy cold, with their heads craned up. I spoke to some folks I would never have otherwise talked to. Funny how we need excuses.
Never seen a solar eclipse. I suppose that’s where all the action is.
Hi Kevin, I’ve seen more than a few eclipses by now. I don’t get to fired up by them myself, but the observatory we run caters to a public who is interested in whizbang astronomy, so we open the place up for them. We give astronomy talks and answer questions. It generally makes for an interesting evening for folks.
Solar eclipses are somewhat more interesting. I’ll never forget the pinhole projections of the sun seen on the ground under a tree.