Star Gazing [Bryan]

Last night was an amazing night. Generally, the Midwest is a terrible place to stargaze. The humidity makes the sky hazy and the dense population means that city light is bouncing off that haze. The elevation is relatively low, so you have a lot more atmosphere to peer through. Even on the best nights, you can only see a couple of dozen stars in the sky. Moreover, the sky is usually cloudy so those good nights are rare. It is very different from the dry, high, clear, light-free sky of the Mountain West where I grew up. (For the best star gazing in the US, go to Lake Powell, Utah. There, the Milky Way shines like, well, milk, splattered across the sky.)

Last night was different, though, here in Ohio. The air was still and clear. The stars were bright. Planets were high in the sky. Orion was to the south and the Big Dipper to the north. And there was a full lunar eclipse! From eight to midnight the moon went from its usual bright white, to a pink, to a dark red, and then back again. I broke out my little two inch telescope and watched the whole thing. I was able to see the rings of Saturn, which was hovering close to the moon. I also got a great view of Great Orion Nebula right in the middle of Orion constellation. Things were so clear I could use my stronger eyepiece, which usually doesn't work very well because of atmospheric turbulence. I was in ecstasy for hours.

The problem was, I was alone for most the night. Ellie had gone to a meeting. I tried to go in a wake up Nora. I turned on her light, shook her, and yelled at her, but she refused to wake up. So I guess I'm stuck with blogging about it. It was a magical night in the skies above Columbus -- one that won't come again very soon. I wish you were all there to see it. It was really cold, though, and I wouldn't have wanted to hear any whining!