Updated: Timelapse now included! (Make sure you set it to HD quality, makes a huge difference… use the little gear icon to change it)
It was a tough road last night… And I’m working on only about 4.5 hours sleep, so if this post is a little incoherent, blame it on the Moon. 🙂
It started out really quite bleak. The clouds were coming and going… Mostly coming. The moon was teasing us as it came and went behind the cloud and slowly dimmed from about 10:30PM onward.. Ironically, as I posted a few pics of the peekaboo moon, other folks on twitter from Victoria and Vancouver tuned in, since their skies were apparently completely covered.
Then, around 11:30AM things started to change. Now an hour into the eclipse the moon was dimming but was not yet red.
Here’s the Timelapse! To see it in HD click the little gear icon. Make sure it has a red “HD” on it.
Click the images to see full size.
By Midnight the clouds truly gave way and we were rewarded for our patience with a spectacular display of the reddening and darkening moon flanked on the right by the bright star Spica and above by Mars.
I had to adjust my webcam in order to capture the trio together and got a few fun shots. Having that webcam really payed off.
By 12:30AM the moon was nearly fully eclipsed and the skies were clear not just in Port Alberni but around much of the Central and North Island. We woke our kids out of bed to see this, of course it was more impressive by the human eye than this images does justice.
By almost 1AM the view was perfect.
Here is a shot from a friend in Nanaimo around the same time. Simply beautiful.
Because the event spanned both yesterday and today I will need to do a little extra work to grab the proper images for the timelapse. I should have it done later this morning and will post it when I do.
It was a great night… The bleary eye and foggy head was definitely worth it.
As for the forecast. Only a very slight chance of showers this morning. But rain should move in by 5PM today and continue almost straight through Thursday.
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