Eclipse Magic

A cornfield silhouetted against the sky. The full moon in eclipse. Two great images from that last two days. I took the photo of the cornfield on Tuesday evening as the full moon rose in the eastern sky.

But I really liked this image of the moon in full eclipse that I took this morning. So. . .I merged the two photos, one of the cornfield and one of the moon, into the first image that you see in this post.

And this image, the eclipsed moon with pine tree silhouettes, was taken around 7 am this morning. The moon was setting in the west and the sky was turning lighter as the sun came close to the horizon. The blue of the sky with the red orange moon and the dark trees combined to create this once-in-several-years image.

Lastly, here's the cornfield with the overexposed full moon. I will confess to doing some digital fiddling to replace this uninteresting white disk with the eclipsed moon. Let's just call it eclipse magic.

Moon & Venus

The crescent moon floats in the early morning sky while bright, bright Venus shines with an intensity that only early risers get to see. Yesterday morning, on February 26th, these two heavenly bodies were much closer together.

This morning's show is less dramatic but crystal clear and showy in the desert southwest sky. The temperature at 5:30 am was about 50, a far cry difference from the single digit chill that is lingering over much of the northern states this late in February.

Desert Sliver Moon

The moon was a sliver in the Arizona desert at a quarter to seven this morning. My body clock is set on Eastern Time, so I had been up for a few hours and was motivated to step out into the 38 degree cold and snap a photo.

"It's pretty cold out, " Ed told me after he checked the air temperature, too. We both guessed it to be in the fifties while a thermometer told us high thirties.

Then we heard from A Wisconsin Native who sent this screenshot of the temperature in central Wisconsin. Eighteen below!

Well, all I can say that is encouraging is that the same moon that shines in the 38 degree desert is shining tonight in the cold air of Wisconsin.

It's winter, my friends. It is definitely winter.

Winter Moon

The moon rose shortly after 1 pm today so by the time I went for a late afternoon walk it was high in the sky. Full moon is one week from today on Tuesday, December 17th, followed by that day we've all been waiting for, Winter Solstice, on Saturday, December 21st.

The temperature barely touched the low twenties today even though the sun was out for part of the day. Through the night the temps fell to single digits.

Clear, crisp, cold. Winter is here for sure.

Turbine Moon

 

This week's full moon got smaller and smaller as it rose over the golden fields of Huron County  

Here's that moon, in the glow of one of the last evenings of summer 2013, as it rose over turbine country. 

Copyright 2013

Wanda Hayes Eichler

 

New Moon In July

The new moon and the planet Venus put on quite a show last night. This image, looking almost due west, shows the crescent moon slightly above the horizon while Venus shines with an intensity that is almost brilliant.

I thought this was a pretty good shot, especially with a point-and-shoot camera like my trusty Sony Cybershot. Then I looked at Earthsky.org and saw an image almost exactly like mine, also taken in Michigan.

It's a small world, indeed, especially when all of us on this tiny planet with all of our tiny cameras are looking up at the same moon and stars.

Copyright 2013
Wanda Hayes Eichler

Before Sunrise

The waning moon floats in the soft southwest blue of the morning. Clouds catch the first light and throw pink reflections. The air is clear. A soft wind stirs across the desert where saguaros look like unstrung telephone poles, lost from purpose, yet standing tall. In the distance a mourning dove is cooing, glad to sense the coming day.

All the desert is waiting for the sun to rise.

Copyright 2013
Wanda Hayes Eichler

Morning Moon

The waning moon was a faint sliver on the morning that I took this image. The morning star -- a bright planet in the eastern sky -- floated above the crescent moon.

I like the way the cactus spines seem to stand on end in this image. It's almost as if the cactus was frightened by the sight of the moon.

Copyright 2012
Wanda Hayes Eichler

Three Day Moon

I started calling this post "Wisconsin New Moon," but a closer check of the moon phase app on my Kindle Fire revealed that this is really a three day moon. Taken on Monday, August 20 at 9:19 pm  near Eden in Fond du Lac County, the image shows a moon that is 12 percent visible.

Whenever I see a sliver moon like this one, I think of Tony Bennett singing Dorothy Parker's lyrics, "I Wished on the Moon."

I wished on the moon for something I never knew,

Wished on the moon for more than I ever knew,

A sweeter rose, a softer sky,

An April day that would not dance away.

 

Let's change that to "an August moon" and wish for summer to not dance away, to linger just a little longer with cool nights, and few more meals of sweet corn and garden tomatoes.

 

 

Golden Moon

April Moon

Dusk and a New Moon

 

Copyright 2012

Wanda Hayes Eichler

 

 

 



Dusk and a New Moon

The new moon didn't set until well after sunset last night. After a day of heat and humidity, it felt good to sit outside and consider the moon.

Later, watching stars and satellites, we saw lightning way out over Lake Huron. The clouds danced with silvery, electric light as the bolts lit up the sky and threw reflections across the water.

Copyright 2012
Wanda Hayes Eichler

April Moon

It was big and full and luscious last night, that April moon. The night air was cold when I waltzed outside with my camera to catch this image of a southbound freighter about to intersect the rising moon.

I set the camera on handheld twilight and two seconds on the self timer. Put the camera on the broad arm of an Adirondack chair and stepped back. Ah, the moon.

Copyright 2012
Wanda Hayes Eichler

Invisible Moon

Jet contrails, wispy clouds, the ascending sun, calm waters. It's the beginning of the Pure Michigan spring day here at Cedar Bluff overlooking Lake Huron.

The new moon rose at 7:07 am Eastern Daylight Time. This photo was taken at 7:31 am. So out there, in the glow of the sunrise, invisible to the human eye, is the new moon. Within a day or two we will see the sliver of the new moon -- growing ever slightly, day by day, night by night, toward full moon -- set in the west just after sunset.

The moon is always a promise. Dark moon, new sliver, quarter, full. A clock of the universe, it cycles through life. Created, evolving, moving and wondrous.

Copyright 2012

Wanda Hayes Eichler



Smudge Moon

The waning moon of March rises as a smudge against the eastern sky today. This photo, taken at 6:48 Eastern Daylight time, shows the moon as a spot of blur, even though I could pick out the crescent shape against the purple depth of the morning sky.

There is a glow of moonlight across the calm waters of White Rock Shoal. The faint drift of a jet streak crosses the sky. Canada geese cackle in the distance. Robins call back and forth in the still bare trees.

The household is wakening. A cinnamon coffee cake is in the oven. The first pot of coffee tastes like sweet nectar.

It is a Pure Michigan morning just before spring at the Lake Huron shore.

Copyright 2012
Wanda Hayes Eichler

Freighter Moon

It's cloud and windy and trying to rain this morning at Cedar Bluff. So, today's image is coming from the almost eleven year old archives of digital photography that I've accumulated.

This image from September 2005 shows a freighter headed north (we call that up bound) and about to enter the light path of a full moon. On a clear night the ships passing Cedar Bluff appear as tiny strings of lights, almost like a goddess took off her necklace for the night and placed it on the water.

Remember that you can click on the photo to enlarge and isolate it from the blog. And remember that most browsers allow you to zoom in on a page so you can see both print and photos larger.

Copyright 2011

Wanda Hayes Eichler

Golden Moon

The waxing crescent moon glowed golden in the late summer sky on Thursday night. The air was heavy. A humid fog hovered over fields and roads and Lake Huron.

Camera used: Sony Cyber-shot, twilight setting, mounted on tripod.

Copyright 2011

Wanda Hayes Eichler

Old Moon

The old moon rises in a sliver of silence on Saturday morning, August 27.  Taken at 5:55 am, this image reveals the moon as a ghostly orb with a shining crescent as the coming sun chases the moon into the summer sky.

Copyright 2011

Wanda Hayes Eichler