Hi all, This week's total lunar eclipse was visually stunning from my location - a semi-country setting outside of the city of Montreal, Canada. The weather this time of the year is almost guaranteed to be cloudy and often even snowy. However I got lucky with perfectly clear skies and chilly temperatures of - 4 degrees Celsius. I also got lucky that I had my children accompany me. We staked out a beautiful lakeside location looking towards the western horizon where the first half of the eclipse would unfold in the early morning hours of Tuesday. Indeed the views of the partial eclipse was impressive as Earth's curved shadow slowly crept across the lunar disk. But totality was in itself quite dramatic as the eclipsed moon was sinking towards the horizon.
We managed to snap some satisfying souvenir photos using my iPhone 12 Pro Max fixed to a tripod. I was particularly surprised that we were able to capture the orange-red glow around the moon and in the water's reflection. After two hours of standing in freezing temperatures, and with the dawn quickly approaching in back of us, we called it a night (morning actually ;-) ), found a local Macdonald's restaurant and had a super-early breakfast feeling we had really experienced something special.
Credit: Andrew Fazekas, Lunar Eclipse of November 8, 2022 from Saint Lazare, near Montreal, Quebec, CanadaI was lucky to have shared this astronomical experience with my two daughters, who are now young teenagers, and yet old veteran eclipse watchers. Sharing such a awe-inspiring sky event with loved ones makes it so much more special and memorable.
Now looking over my photos, I look forward to the next total lunar eclipse in 2025 and think how these astro-adventures bring us together through space and time. And of course I can't help but think how much older my daughters will be when we witness the next lunar disappearing act. Observational astronomy can really touch the soul and be socially binding.
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