Here you see the abstract strokes that painted last night’s sky over Great Cove, just after the sun went down behind Deer Isle. Let’s hope that it’s an augury of what we’ll see within the next 24 hours.
Tonight’s full Beaver Moon is scheduled to be partially eclipsed from our viewpoint. This should be one of the longest, most colorful lunar eclipses we’ve had in many years – if we’re awake and IF the sky is clear enough.
The moon is scheduled to begin passing into the Earth’s shadow here at 1:02 a.m. (Friday) and last almost three and one-half hours for us. (The full eclipse seen by some in the world will last for about six hours, the longest in 580 years.)
The eclipse should reach its maximum for us at about 4 a.m., when the full moon may become red or brown due to the refraction of sunlight around the Earth’s edges. If you can see it, the moon initially will be heading southwest from the northeast. Set the alarm and check the sky. (Image taken in Brooklin, Maine, on November 17, 2021.)