Lunar Eclipse
of November 2003
Just to report a (semi)
successful eclipse observation from near Houston....
H-Town was overcast so a friend
of mine (Christie Ponder) and I decided to go east towards what
appeared to be clear skies on the satellite photo. After driving
for over an hour.... no clearing! I think that more clouds had
formed.... anyway, there were some small clearings (more than in
Houston) so we exited the interstate and drove the back
roads.
Well we were most interested in
the eclipse from about 10 minutes before totality through
totality and about 10 minutes after. We said that if we saw it
during any of this period the chase would be considered
successful. We saw it pretty well through several holes during
that period-- never long enough to get a detailed look, but just
long enough to make several observations:
1. Quite a pretty sight!
The clouds (dare I say) enhanced the eeriness.
2. Much brighter than this past
May-- I would put the color as coppery orange... and it had a
relatively bright bluish white rim (the part closest to the edge
of the umbra-- that was not surprising)
3. It was well worth the
chase!!!
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