Positively Tuesday: POSITIVELY SUPER

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

POSITIVELY SUPER

by Mauverneen

Super Moon at the peak of the eclipse

We can travel the world to find wonders, beauty, and the unusual. But sometimes, it comes to us.

For anyone lucky enough to be able to view this weeks super moon eclipse, it was a wonder indeed!

Sometimes Mother Nature puts on a better show than man can ever imagine.

It was sunny with clear skies all week here in my little corner of Illinois, but Sunday morning brought overcast skies - a solid, white screen. As the day progressed, the clouds began to break up, showing stretches of glorious blue sky. I was hopeful that it would clear up by afternoon and stay that way into the evening. But it continued to be mostly cloudy.

Dramatic clouds cross the face of the moon

By nightfall, although it was still partly cloudy I could see some stars, so I knew I had a good chance to see nature’s spectacle. Peeking outside after dark, sure enough a bright full moon shone between the rolling clouds.

Whatever website I had read gave the time of the eclipse as starting at 10:08 pm. Unfortunately, that was Eastern time so I missed the beginning of the show. But since I kept checking to see if the clouds had moved on, I did get to witness the best part – a glowing harvest moon, tinged with a halo of white.

Stars and the moon - the eclipse beginning to wane

My aunt and I had our cameras and tripods ready. Set up in the driveway, we shot photo after photo of this beautiful occurence. As anyone who likes to take photos knows, the more you shoot the more your odds are of getting a GOOD shot. But I also took time to just watch what was happening, to wonder, to just enjoy it, not worrying about f-stops or exposure or clouds. And personally I think the clouds added something – drama, depth, interest.

Hazy clouds, reminding me that this orb is waaay out there in space

When the eclipse was over I remained outside, just watching the moon. It was exceptionally bright, highlighting the clouds that passed in front of it, at times creating a rainbow halo. I hesitated to go inside lingering under that bright moon, in the dark, silent except for the lonely call of a distant owl.