Celestial Show

Did you see the eclipse this morning?  Having woke up at about 4am and not being able to go back to sleep, I decided to get up about 5am and go out to view the celestial show.  My wife had already gotten out of bed and gone to the couch in the living room.  She does that from time to time to be more comfortable, so I wasn’t bothering her by rambling around at that hour.  I got around and did a short version of my morning routine, then turning off the porch light that I keep on all night, I went outside.

The air was crisp and cool, but not cold.  The moon was over the neighbor’s house and was not as I expected.  It was dark on the left side, and gradually got brighter toward the right.  I had expected a more solid color (or non-color).  After looking at it for a minute or so, I began to look around and take in my surroundings.  After all, I don’t often see this time of day.

The noise of the traffic on West Kellogg wafted into the neighborhood, a little louder than I might have expected.  Other porch lights were on up and down the street, but no one was much stirring.  In the sky, besides the moon, I was able to make out several constellations and some stars.  Sirius, the dog star was one of the brighter objects in the sky.  Orion was rather clear, and I could also see his sword, which doesn’t often happen in the light pollution of the city.  The North Star was visible, and I could even see the Seven Sisters, albeit faintly.  Venus was a bright morning star in the east, but the Big and Little Dippers were washed out.

The newspaper was on the drive.  After a bit, one of the neighbor’s garage doors opened, and she left for work.  A jet traveled east to west directly toward the eclipsed moon, with the noise of the engines following some distance behind.

I decided while I was out to stroll through the neighborhood.  Heading out, I noticed that not many homes were lit up yet.  One neighbor was up and had the front door open.  Inside, I could see the TV on and a shot of the eclipsed moon on the screen.  A dog or two started barking in the distance, and as I got closer to Maize Road, I noticed the air getting noticeably warmer.  I’ve noticed that phenomenon before.  We are not far from Cowskin Creek, and the park is directly behind us.  I presume that the combination of a low lying area by the creek, and the flora and fauna make our immediate area a little cooler.

I continued on toward Maize Road, and noticed that there were not many newspapers in the driveways.  People don’t much read the newspaper anymore, it seems.  There are several of us older folks in my immediate area who subscribe, but many of the younger families in the less expensive homes by Maize Road don’t, evidently.

I was out for about 25 minutes, and as I came back in, I picked up our newspaper and came in the house after viewing the moon one last time.  Going to the basement in order to not wake the wife, I got on the computer and am now typing this…as she is getting up and around.

I don’t know about you, but eclipses are one of the greatest solar shows ever, in my opinion.  And it’s kind of nice to see a side of the day that one normally doesn’t see, as well.  I’ll probably turn into a pumpkin about 8:30 tonight.  Oh well.  That’s lfe.