The sky was cloudy early in the evening, but then it cleared so Stacey and I drove to Edgewater Park on the north coast of the U.S.A., risking arrest for being in a state park after closing, to sit in the dark and watch the total lunar eclipse through the sunroof. Coincidentally, without realizing it, I had thrown on a Dark Side of the Moon Tour shirt.
We sat in the car for about an hour and a half star-gazing. Jupiter was nearby, but I forgot the binoculars; so, we couldn't see the rings. The memories flooded over us, and we recalled the many times laying out on the deck or holding on to the edge of the pool, turning off all the lights, scanning the sky for meteors during various meteor showers. We camped out with sleeping bags in winter's frigid cold, watching nature illuminate the night sky. A part of history, we tracked Halley's Comet together.
We reminisced about home schooling, J-dogg and I spending many nights-into-morning looking up at the heavens, identifying stars, planets, the occasional spy satellite streaking across the sky, dud comets, constellations, and shooting stars, checking out the Moon's craters with our backyard telescope, as a part of his science curriculum. We'd find stars -- Betelguese, Sirius, Regula. We re-discovered the Seven Sisters, as if for the first time in human history, the Big Dipper, the Little Dipper, featuring Polaris, the North Star.
And we talked about getting up in the wee hours of the morning and finding our way to some bridge over the intercoastal waterway near Cape Canaveral to see a night launch of one of the space shuttles with thousands of other lunatics, the night sky brightly illuminated by the giant fire trail, catching the launch on film.
And tonight, both boys, now in their 20's, living on their own, called to remind us to look up. It's a family thing -- still. Felt pretty good.
Posted by Bill at February 20, 2008 11:40 PMI didn't see it last night, but this morning I got out an old video of one I had taken back in 1992. I wish I had a tripod then. Sounds like you had a nice evening.
Posted by: Vito at February 21, 2008 04:29 PMVery cool-I had no idea it was happening. My brother used to show me all kinds of really cool things through his super caduper huge telescope. I was just saying to my husband how very aware everyone used to be of the space shuttle going up and down etc etc-they used to stop class and turn on the TV so we could see history happening. Now-a-days have no idea when it is launching.
Posted by: Heather Z at February 24, 2008 01:50 AMI don't think we had it over here. Home schooling sounds a great way to educate parents.
Posted by: Anji at February 25, 2008 12:22 PMsmiling my BUTT off reading your homeschooling reminiscences. Keith and I were also chatting about lying on the old deck in the woods in our snow pants with Keli whining in the house at us that it was too cold while we were looking for meteors during showers. Or taking her new telescope out into the field (the one she'd been saving for YEARS to buy - it was a beauty!) that we finally went halves on to help her with and heading off that first frigidly cold winter night that we saw Saturn's rings...
We were texting back and forth with our OWN now adult when it started. I know just how you felt.
Posted by: Keri at February 28, 2008 08:00 PMI was never more moved with one's reflection of the night sky, than I am to read this here.
Posted by: tracy at March 3, 2008 02:42 AM