Halfway moon

[rebeccmeister]

Last night I noted the bright, full moon before going to sleep. Then I set my alarm for 2:30 am and groggily and fatiguedly got up for a few minutes to see the half-eclipsed moon for a few minutes. The glowing white exposed crescent obscured the red glow of the eclipsed face. I wanted to believe I saw change, but I couldn't tell if the crescent moved or if my tired eyes were simply playing tricks on me. I thought about all of the hopes and dreams pinned to the moon--the artwork about the first humans to walk on it, the way it connects people together through knowing we see the same moon from wherever we stand. I wish I could have stayed up longer to watch and think, but my body disagreed and lured me back to sleep.

activeimagine recently wrote about the discovery of a large empty space in the universe (hope you don't mind the mention), and the questions it brings up, for in many ways it was utterly unexpected. It's worth contemplating because its existence alters our understanding in profound ways.

Thinking about space and the universe always makes my mind telescope in the opposite direction as well, down to the smallest observable particles and whatever is beyond them. There are physical limits to what we are capable of observing and experiencing, but even within that framework it's amazing to consider what we still don't know and are still discovering. This holds true both individually and collectively as a society.

Comments

[faisdodo.livejournal.com]

where do you find out about such astronomical goings-on? i always miss them because i don't watch the news on the right day. :(

[rebeccmeister.livejournal.com]

I wish I had a single, simple source--for this one, it was a combination of other LJ-ers and also the Astronomy Picture of the Day (which has an RSS feed) mentioned it yesterday. Actually, APOD is pretty good for stuff like that. Besides, the pictures are a nice, neat daily dose of astronomy.

[sandokai.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you tried to see the eclipse. I feel that way looking for meteors-- was that one? Was that one? And then there's one that definitely WAS.

[rebeccmeister.livejournal.com]

It's funny to realize the subtlety of astronomical events, given what we know about their true size. I like the perspective they provide.

[earthlingmike.livejournal.com]

My boss found what is probably a meteor, a couple months ago. It probably weighs around ten pounds, which means it was much bigger, maybe a boulder, when it first entered our atmosphere. It's very rounded, a spot on it even looks burned, magnets stick to it. He tried to get in touch with an astronomy professor at Cornell about it, but the guy never got back to him.

[(Anonymous)]

Oh, you would have loved the full eclipse in Seattle! Kath and I rose about 2:30, and I watched for a full hour (sitting in our SE closet with an open window, complete calm, and a cloudless sky. I was amazed at how long it was in total eclipse--at least 20 min. It was supposed to start full at 2:52, if I recall correctly. My bod finally crashed at 3:37 and it still had not begun its reversion to reflecting orb. A beautiful amber-red glow--and an amazing assortment of stars immediately about the disk (even in Seattle's obtrusive ground light). -m

[rebeccmeister.livejournal.com]

Oh how cool! I'm glad that you were able to watch the whole thing! I wish I'd been able to stay up at least that long, but I'm happy that I at least got to see what I did.