Despite clouds, eclipse party carries on

Well, you pays your money and you takes your chance. That seemed to be the prevailing attitude of the 20 or so good folks who gathered at the Benkelman Elementary school last Wednesday evening, Feb. 20, to watch the last total eclipse visible in the Americas for the next three years.

Early in the evening hopes were high for a good eclipse watching experience. The clouds and snow flurries from earlier in the day had vanished leaving a blue sky at sunset and the bright, full moon rising over the eastern horizon shining in all of its glory.

However, such was not to be the case as a high layer of clouds slowly drifted in from the west and covered the slowly dimming lunar face. The fact of the eclipse could still be seen through the passing clouds but no clear view could be obtained. All that could be seen was a shrinking bright blob in the darkened sky.

Between running outside to take a look and returning inside for hot chocolate and cookies there was a viewing of a Powerpoint presentation of what an eclipse is, and watching live views on the Internet from other locations on the planet of the eclipse in progress.

One of the best views, curiously enough, was from Iran, although, no one present could read the Arabic script surrounding the picture telling what was going on.

Although the shrinking moon could be seen through the clouds, one thing that was missed was any indication of the red coloration of the moon's face during mid -eclipse. The reduced light was just not strong enough to punch through the cloud cover.

As they say in Chicago, there is always next year. Only in this case it will be three years before another total lunar eclipse will be seen from this area. As they were leaving, several party attendees told me: "See you in three years."

SKY WATCH:

With the lunar eclipse fireworks out of the way, attention now returns to the continuing dance of the planets and the moon in the early morning and late evening skies. Wednesday, Feb. 27, is the morning to look for Venus, and Mercury, the two innermost planets in the solar system, making a close-knit pair.

The two will be little more than a degree (the width of two full moons) apart in the southeastern sky about 45 minutes before sunrise. Use the brightness of Venus to find the pair, binoculars will be helpful. Jupiter will be far to the upper right of the pair. The Mars, Betelgeuse, Aldebaran triangle is still visible in mid-evening high overhead although it is a little more spread out than it was earlier in the month. All three objects have a distinctive reddish tinge to them. Third quarter moon on Feb. 28.

Next time:

More astronomical blathering.