Thursday was a humdinger of a day–and I will write more about that later–but when all was said and done, Beau looked outside at the moon and said, “Mom, were we supposed to have a lunar eclipse?”
Ever since the sunrise project, we have been “keeping our hands on the pulse” of what is happening in the sky. (I know that metaphor brings a strange image to mind, but have you ever longed to touch the objects in the sky? I know I have.)
We all knew that the moon should have been full on Thursday night, so we bolted outside, cameras in hand. Once in the dark, we saw the amazing sight at the top of this post!
We interrupt your currently scheduled full moon to bring you this important eclipse.
See the pair of stars to the lower left of the moon? (You may only see one, but there was a pair, one brighter and one a little bit dim.) This was another interesting thing about what we saw on Thursday night. This star (or pair of stars) appeared to track with the moon.
I completely understand how “impossible” that is. The moon moves across the sky at such a good clip that it will change positions while we are focusing the cameras. But I am just explaining what we saw and photographed.
I began to fancy the bright area of the moon as a little cap. In the image above, the man in the moon has a bit of attitude, with his cap tipped down over his left eye!
Another interesting thing about this night was the number of “shooting stars” we saw. (Well, my eyes were on the camera, so I didn’t see any, but Tony and Beau did!) They counted at least seven. Most of them came from the north, but one came from the south.
We are at the very tail end of the weeks-long Perseid meteor shower, but even on peak night, August 12th, we didn’t see this many so easily. Because the light from a shooting star lasts only a second or so, you have to be looking at that area of the sky in order to catch them. It’s hard to see them with eyes, let alone focus and take a picture. Regrettably!
We will now return to your regularly scheduled full moon, currently in progress.
I love to see the full moon in this attitude. Here I see the “Man in the Moon” looking upward, his eyes on God, thankful for his existence. He is a great example to us, isn’t he?
“The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. . . .
The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart. . . .
Keep your servant from deliberate sins! Don’t let them control me. Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” (Psalms 19: 1,2,7,8,13,14 NLT)
May God bless you with His joy this week, my dear friends! I pray you are drawn to the things of the Lord, and can’t help but meditate on His magnificence. He made all the beauty above, and put it into the middle of our night for a reason. It’s special, and it’s rare, like His love. It’s also for everyone who looks up.
Look up, my dear friends! Much love to you!
The Fullers Four 