The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
-Psalm 19:1

Do you know that God controls the clouds and makes his lightning flash?
-Job 37:15



Thursday, February 21, 2008

Perfect Lunar Eclipse Viewing in South Georgia

Well, as it turned out, the skies of south central Georgia were PERFECT for viewing last night's total lunar eclipse. I, of course, in true Dew fashion, captured it photographically. I had my tripod set up in the back yard and around dinner, homework and American Idol (who scheduled a Lunar Eclipse to occur at the same time as American Idol?! lol). I even got a text message from Rick at one point asking if I was shooting it... Was I shooting the lunar eclipse...? lol Did he really have to ask?




Then, as the Earth's shadow began to cast that reddish glow on the moon, I changed my settings to capture that. All the while, during this event, I would encourage Mini-Dew to come out and see the various stages. She was amazed at the near total eclipse after having seen the full moon not 2 hours prior. I'm glad to have been able to share the experience with her. I could hear several of my neighbors reacting to what they were seeing as well.Click on the icon for a link to Jeff Gammons's site, where he has a time lapse video of the lunar eclipse last night. I love his time lapse work! CNN has an article with pictures that people have submitted.

I actually have a funny story about shooting the moon last night. It was a nearly full moon, but the sky was so clear with only a few drifting cirrus clouds accentuating its brilliance, while it was still low in the eastern sky that it lit everything up nicely. I was on my way to Mini-Dew's practice, and I saw that the moon was beautiful and barely resting above a barn on the way down the road... completely photographable, so (yep, you guessed it) I pulled off the side of the road to shoot it. Given time constraints, I didn't have the time to set up the tripod to get a more steady shot, but I did the best I could. You get the picture. Anyways, while I was there shooting this beautiful landscape shot, a sheriff's deputy pulls up, lights on and everything, right smack dab in the middle of my shot (grrr)... and he looks over at me, camera in hand... and asks, "Is everything all right, ma'am? Are you OK?" My humble, almost embarrassed, response... "Yes, sir. I was just taking pictures of the... moon. (cracking up on the inside at this point) I'll be on my way shortly." I followed his eyes as he checked to make sure that my vehicle was safely off the road, and he said, "Oh no, ma'am. Take your time. You are fine." I guess in retrospect, I should have gotten the tripod out at that point. It really was picturesque.

Now... let's explore the weather, shall we? I woke up this morning, to see that there was a (still ongoing) tornado watch in southern Louisiana. It looks like a bulk of the strong convection has moved out of the watch area, and some has actually moved further east than the slight risk area defined by the Storm Prediction Center, looks like it's a fast moving low with more storm activity than they might have foreseen. I expect that the updated outlook will move that slight risk well east shortly. Currently, the MCS appears to be moving east on I-10, so westward travel on I-10 could be a tough ride today... happens to be the direction bf is headed today. Storm chasing without me?! So not cool! It's OK though, Thursdays aren't my chase days. Tomorrow though... it looks like I am still solidly in place for a slight chance of a severe weather outbreak. The text isn't strong, the tornadic threat is conditional... heck, even the severe threat is limited by the potential cloud cover, but it could happen. Rick and I are exploring the possibility of a chase. Looks like Meso Mike will be ditching us for w**k... I guess it comes down to timing. I will keep an eye on things and see what happens. Here's what the SPC is saying...

WIND PROFILES IN WARM SECTOR WILL BECOME LARGELY UNIDIRECTIONAL. STORMS MAY EVOLVE INTO SUPERCELLS AND BOWING SEGMENTS WITH DAMAGING WIND EXPECTED THE MAIN THREAT...THOUGH HAIL MAY ALSO BE POSSIBLE DEPENDING ON MID LEVEL LAPSE RATES AND DEGREE OF DESTABILIZATION. ANY TORNADO THREAT APPEARS CONDITIONAL UPON HOW QUICKLY THE LOW LEVEL JET VEERS AND SHIFTS EWD AWAY FROM THE DESTABILIZING WARM SECTOR.
Let's see what the Dewvoid does to this one. Stay tuned.

Oh, I almost forgot, I wrote about my friend's daughter who lives in Prattville, AL, and I received a aerial shot of the tornado damage in her neighborhood from the February 17th EF-3 tornado that caused a tremendous amount of damage in that city. According to Celina's mom:
Here is a shot of Celina's neighborhood after the tornado went through on Sunday afternoon. Celina and family rode out the storm in the bathroom with blankets and pillows over them. Give thanks to God that they are safe and healthy.
Update 2:45PM: This tornado watch #70 was just issued for much of Southern Louisiana. Looks like bf will be going chasing without me, whether he wants to or not... he is headed just east of this watch box; in fact, he's on his way now, driving through torrential rains along I-10 in the panhandle... just rainy, drizzly day here, though I just heard some thunder.

God bless,
~Dewdrop

24 comments:

  1. Excellent eclipse pictures. You did a great job on them. You should of framed up the cop car at a low angle with a the moon in the background. LOL Great pics and story.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm glad someone got to see the eclipse last night! We were perfectly situated here in Dallas...underneath a thick cover of low clouds. Sigh. Oh well, there's always 2010, which happens to be a predicted solar-max year, as well. As for the sheriff encounter, as a freelance photographer I have been "approached" by security and suspicious-types enough lately to know that taking an innocent picture can sometimes be hazardous. Thankfully nothing bad has happened, yet, but I now carry full documentation proving that no one can sue me or legally throw me off "public" property. Such is the modern world. Good luck with the possible chase op!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Jeff, LOL, and thanks! People tend to pick on me when I photograph cops. I am glad you enjoyed my story. :O)

    Ken, Sorry you missed out on the eclipse. Blasted clouds. Grumble, grumble. Hopefully, 2010 will offer better viewing for you. I could not believe how clear my sky was. All the stars were so brilliant. I have decided that I desperately need a remote control for night shots. Just the shake from snapping the picture, shook my picture badly in a lot of my shots. I was trying to capture some with Venus and some of the other stars in the shots without much success. It was an amazing display though.

    Thanks for the advice on shooting on "public" property. How sad is that to have to prove that you are allowed to capture what is available to everyone... stupid.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I fought with the clouds at times off and on, but the first half of the eclipse was pretty clear just in my area. Satellite imagery showed the rest of Florida was full of clouds. I shot a time-lapse of the event this time around, that’s up on my site. The second half filled in with clouds, so I only filmed up to about 11pm.

    Would be nice to be in range to see that missile blast that spy satellite out of orbit last night.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I decided it would be too redundant to watch the 2nd half of the eclipse, so I shot it to total and stopped... I suppose I could just flip them to see the reverse... lol I haven't visited your site yet, but I will be there shortly to check out that time lapse!!! Can't wait to see it!

    I wonder how that blast looked last night?! Have you seen any coverage?

    ReplyDelete
  6. No not yet on tv, but I did come across this report.

    "SIGHTING: From the summit of Maui's Haleakala volcano, not far from the Navy ships that struck USA 193, Rob Ratkowski may have photographed fragments of the shattered satellite."
    http://spaceweather.com/submissions/large_image_popup.php?image_name=Rob-Ratkowski-eUSA193-1096_1203580632.jpg

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks, Jeff, for the link to that photograph. I will have to check that out. I hope you don't mind me including the screen shot from your blog to link to your site for the video... I guess I should have asked first, but if you would prefer I didn't, just say the word, and it is gone. :O)

    ReplyDelete
  8. No prob...Your welcome to use it... Radar lighting up down here now, I better get out and get my lawn cut before the rains...ttyl

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks! I figure people are more likely to click on a prospect of a video than just an underlined link to a site.

    Hope you beat the rain, but, if not, enjoy the rain!!! ttyl.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Beautiful shots of the moon. I am glad you all got good shots because really, the weather was not my friend here so I was not treated to nice sights at all... well, lets hope the winter of 2010 will be a better year for moon viewing for me :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Michele, So sorry you weren't able to view it up there. Usually weather isn't cooperating with me. I am glad it was my friend this time. I hope the next one is better for you. :O)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Oops... not Venus, Saturn. My bad.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Oh, so much better than mine! If it were not -15 out I might have gotten more than one shot. (wink)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Thanks, Beth. I thought my 40 degree temps were cold. Holy cow. I commend you for getting out there at all.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Jenn- Thanks for all the info on your blog. Hubby and I did have a talk about our plan for a tornado the other night... hallway guest bathroom tub. Those shots of the lunar eclipse are just so fascinating and beautiful to look at! Have a FABULOUS FRIDAY!!! :o)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Courtney, I am so glad that you have a disaster plan! Everyone needs one! I'm glad you like my eclipse shot. I loved photographing it!!! Have a wonderful weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Nice shots. Note to self: Always be on the lookout for the police when shooting the moon....

    ReplyDelete
  18. ... lol... that reminds me of this one time...

    ReplyDelete
  19. Great eclipse shots! I tried, but my junky camera doesn't zoom enough so it looks like a speck. Grrrrr. you have more run ins with the police for innocent things than anyone I know...you must have a guilty look...or a damsel in distress look...either one would attract attention from the officials.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Thanks, Annie! Sorry your camera sucks. I was pleased with my zoom, but I definitely want more.

    As for the police run-ins... who me? guilty?

    ReplyDelete
  21. There is a story behind that comment Dew, and it BEGS to be told!!!

    ReplyDelete
  22. I came looking for your barns and find that they are, indeed, just as fascinating as ours.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Thanks, Katney! Glad you like our barns. I love to shoot them!

    ReplyDelete

Dew comment, please...