Total lunar eclipse, February 21, 2008
By Richard H.Handy
Sketch of Lunar Eclipse 022108
Last night’s lunar eclipse was not looking good for us southern California observers, as a trough of low pressure had ushered in a cold, wet Pacific storm, drenching the region in light showers. Knowing there would be no opportunity to set up any of my scopes for a sketch, I decided to try catching a naked eye view if there were any breaks in the clouds. Every 10 minutes or so, I stepped outside on the patio to see if Luna had made her appearance. I was beginning to lose hope when about 9:00 PST, a large cumulus cloud passed overhead leaving the Moon shining brilliantly less a slightly hazy black bite prominent in it’s northern hemisphere. I was very pleased because the opening in between the next set of clouds allowed about 7 or 8 minutes of sketching before closing the curtain on the show for the night. Although I missed the chromatic part of the eclipse, I felt happy to have come away with a memory, albeit just a sketch of a small part in this awesome drama of Sun, Earth, and Moon.
Sketch Details:
Subject: Naked eye view of the lunar eclipse on February 21, 2008
Time: 8:59 PST to 9:07 PST
Seeing: Antoniadi IV
Weather: Cloudy with intermittent light showers
Phase: 359.2 deg
Colongitude: 86 deg
Lunation: 14.05 Days
Notes: A perfect bite, a bit hazy about the edge
Medium: White Conte’ Crayon on black Strathmore Artagain paper
Sketch size: 9″ X 12″
Rich,
You made refreshing lemonade out of what many would have called sour observing conditions.
Wonderful sketch.
Frank 🙂