Eclipse of the Moon with Sandwiches

Up at 2.30am BST ready for the eclipse.

Decided to drive to higher ground.

About a mile down the road we realised that higher ground would be covered in cloud and mist!

We pondered for a moment  

then turned around and headed back to our original park spot.

Only an hour to go, but with the cloud milling all around, I wasn't sure if we would witness the event.

Fully dressed and cat napping, the clock alarm sounded at 3.40am BST.

I busied myself with setting up  the Vixen telescope. 

More importantly Helen made tea and sandwiches.

Still the clouds lurked, though mostly over towards the North and hidden low on the East and West horizon.

My telescope setup was identical to the one used on the August 12th solar eclipse.

This particular setup performs well on the  Moon and Sun.

We were able to capture images right up to the maximum coverage. 

Then, as if on queue, the clouds rolled over the Moon and the curtain fell on this early morning's wonderful eclipse.

The Moon throughout our observe wasn't as red tinged as eclipses of past.  

I think the best red eclipse we ever witnessed was that of December 9th 1992, a memorable event with a very  dark umbral shadow.

The Bat Moon Transit.

We were parked up on Newgale seafront, the sky darkened, Venus shone low down on the horizon.

No stars as yet.

Over the nearby hill the Moon slowly appeared. 

Through the Vixen telescope you could clearly see the lunar phase was very near full.  

For a few minutes I drifted off into a lunar dream.

Then I spotted it, perfectly silhouetted against the moon's face.. a bat!  

I quickly set up the camera  for a shot. 

No photo was captured, I had no chance, the little mammalian flyer was to quick for me to click the camera's shutter.

Having abandoned the idea of a bat transit photo, I put the camera to one side and went back to my lunar dreaming.

Solar eclipse with Cornflakes.

The day was sweltering, the grass was golden brittle  brown and push cut to the ground. 

Above us the autumn hinting blue sky was heavily tinted with that burning hot summer chrome, sharp and  shining out of every earthly reflection.

It was way too hot, the air was still  and there was no shade.

The Sun needed a parasol... the Moon was soon to oblige!

Today's solar eclipse was about to commence. 

Earlier in the day I had set up the little red telescope, hooked up my smartphone adapter and prepared all the phone camera settings for optimum "sit-on-a-deck-chair" eclipse viewing. 

The first contact occurred at 18h16m BST.

For the next two hours Helen and I sat enthralled.

The temperature within the first hour fell noticeably, the scorching heat was no more. 

The Moon parasol was working well.

The event went by without a hitch.

I got to sit on my deck-chair for most of it, eating cornflakes with ice cold milk, whilst enjoying every second of that most perfect Sun/Moon dance.