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Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Day Old Moon!

It was just yesterday, exactly 24 hours ago, in fact, that there was a total solar eclipse on the other side of the world! We've got a couple friends on a ship somewhere between Indonesia and Malaysia that went to see it. While we've not heard from them, have seen a few images online. Meanwhile, after a busy day here, around sunset while feeding cats, I thought to look for the exactly 24 hour moon to the west. The "moon clock" starts at new, and you can't get any newer than a total solar eclipse! With the ecliptic at sunset nearly vertical, I was thinking it would be easy to spot, and sure enough, found it early and had enough time to go get the 70-200 zoom and set up for a shot in the front yard. The nearest palm tree is near enough to be slightly out of focus, but some vegetation was moving in the breeze for the .4 second exposure, F/9 at a focal length of 165mm. If you click on the image, the moon is the skinniest of crescents, and you can also see the "dark side", illuminated by the nearly full earth as seen from the moon. The moon will continue to wax (grow in phase) for the next 2 weeks, reaching full on the morning of the 23rd. Enjoy it as the weather allows!

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