It was a nice clear evening last night so I popped out to have a look at the lunar eclipse.
Occultation of Uranus
Not only was there a lunar eclipse, but there was also an "occultation of Uranus," but I was not able to see that with the naked eye.
What it means is that Uranus moved behind the Moon and so the Sun, Earth, Moon and Uranus were all aligned in the sky for a short period, something that won't occur for another 322 years when the occultation of Saturn occurs.
There was a lot of glare from the street lights, apartment lights, vehicle lights and traffic lights, so I decided to head towards Kairo-yama, a nearby "mountain" (actually just a steep hill) to get a clear view of the sky.
I told myself that there was no point in taking photos of the moon on my phone.
But on my way to Kairo-yama I stopped at Shioya Shrine and just had to try and catch the inky shadow of the earth spilling across the moon as it hung in the night sky right over the shrine.
Lunar Eclipse in Aries, Jupiter in Pisces
Then, when I got to a good viewing point a little way up the mountain, I simply could not resist trying to fit the Moon and Jupiter in a single frame.
The lunar eclipse took place in, or just below, the constellation of Aries. Later that evening I was able to view the moon and Jupiter from my balcony, and could clearly see three of the stars that make up the constellation of Aries just above the Moon, with Jupiter on the left in the constellation of Pisces.
Moon Viewing On Our Balcony
To the right of the Moon, the constellation of Taurus slowly began to appear over the roof line of our next door neighbour's house.
I got out a couple of camping chairs for the Mrs and me, and sat there chugging a beer and attempting to get a better view of the blood red moon through an antiquated pair of East German binoculars that I picked up from a street stall in Berlin in 1991.
Apart from the neck ache, it was a fine way to spend the evening, even if I didn't manage to see Uranus disappearing behind the moon.
Cheers!
David Hurley
#InspiredFocus
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