Moonset

Last shadow of the lunar eclipse

Would the clouds clear by 3 a.m.? The moon spent the early evening somewhat obscured by a thin haze above Colorado Springs. Odds felt against seeing the last lunar eclipse to darken these parts for three years. 

 I had hope enough to set an alarm for 3 a.m. The blood moon proved too much for my schedule. With an hour of totality from roughly 4-5 a.m. Mountain, I could not muster the energy for a start that early. 

I got out of the house for the eclipse’s back half. It felt high although it would set in less than an hour. Totality slipped away, but coverage still exceeded 80 percent and the blood red color ran deep. 

It all reminded me of past lunar eclipses I witnessed. August 17, 1989. We stayed home from our annual Connecticut visit that year, and I remember watching its transit through the earth’s shadow from the backyard. A decade ago, I remember heading into the pre-dawn in Nashville to watch ruddy phases of the moon. The lunar eclipse gets less attention than the solar, but still provides a show. 

The moon mirrored my journey north, occasionally falling into an island of cloud. The blood red began to wane once the shadow’s coverage pulled back. 

I crossed the Palmer Divide expecting it to vanish, but it stayed aloft for my trip through the mesas of the uninhabited Greenland area (not that Greenland). In the light traffic, I could take the occasion glance at the shadow creeping back. That shadow slipping away was not a picture I dared take. 

The mountains would not cut off the view this morning, but a series of storm clouds rolling east. As the clouds won out, the Earth’s shadow still claimed a chunk of the visible moon. That will have to suffice till June 2029, when the next lunar eclipse arrives. 

About to slip into the cloud (far left)