Eclipse!

As we drove to church at about 5.30 yesterday afternoon, a huge white moon was rising above the horizon. It shone in our faces all the way to church, in the dimming daylight. I said "It's having an extra bright shine now, because it's going to be covered tonight for a while." Little did I know.

We spent the evening from about 7.30 running in and out of the house having a look - the moon seemed dimmer, but not much was happenning. Pete set up his camera on his tripod and focused on the moon. At about 20 past 8, he said "It's starting" and we went out to watch the moon slowly disappear. As the surface was covered, the amazing copper colour started to show, and at one time, I said I thought it looked like a traditional round Christmas Pudding with a big spoonful of cream on top - all it lacked was the sprig of holly!

It was hard to pinpoint the exact moment when the brightness disappeared, but that's when the surprise happened for me. I have never really experienced a lunar eclipse like this before. A solar eclipse is exciting, but quite short lived - the moon is quite small and passed over the sun's face quite quickly, but the earth's shadow is much bigger, and so the period of darkness is so much longer. The stars got brighter and brighter, and it got colder and colder. First 1 jacket and a fleece, then another jacket and 2 blankets, and finally, I had to go and put on tracksuit pants and socks.

I couldn't help thinking how frightening this must have been to primitive people who would not have had any forewarning. Starting out on a bright night, with the moon illuminating the landscape and the stars shining dimly around it, and then the creeping darkness, and finally the red moon, which slowly dimmed until it was dark. They must have thought, "What have we done to anger God?" And then to see the moon slowly brightening, and finally, seeing the while tip to the copper orb, and finally, the bright white moon bursting free. Awesome!

The other thing that took me by surprise was how quickly the moon changed position in the sky. At 7.30 it was quite low on the horizon where we live, down in the dip. By 10.30 it was so high that Pete had to lie on the ground under his tripod to try and focus the camera, which was pointing stright up at the sky. At times it seemed as if I could see the moon moving up and forward.

Pete and I will probably never see another eclipse like that in our lifetime. I don't remember ever seeing anything as spectacular before. Sitting out in the cold, crisp air with a cup of cocoa and watching the wonderful "show" as Brenda called it, was an experience and a privilege. I know I wasn't alone in thinking of GK Chesterton's poem, The Donkey - "..some moment when the moon was blood..." You are amazing, God.