supermoon eclipse

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supermoon ~ 9.27.15 ~ Avery Point

Nate & Shea are visiting us and last night the clouds held off so we could share viewing the supermoon eclipse combo with them. Lucky for us because apparently this won’t happen again until 2033. We went down to Avery Point to see the moonrise at 6:27 pm but somehow missed it behind a building. After walking around the campus a bit we finally found it, too late to catch a picture of it on the horizon. But it was still impressively large, and as most of us know, the camera does not capture the moon illusion that our eyes see.

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supermoon ~ 9.27.15 ~ Avery Point
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9.27.15 ~ Avery Point
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supermoon ~ 9.27.15 ~ Avery Point

After we watched the moonrise we returned to our house and watched the lunar eclipse from the balcony, which began a couple of hours later.

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start of lunar eclipse ~ 9.27.15 ~ Groton, Connecticut
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total lunar eclipse ~ 9.27.15 ~ Groton, Connecticut

We were exhausted from a long day. In the afternoon we had taken a lighthouse ferry cruise on Long Island Sound. Nate and I stayed up until the middle of the total lunar eclipse (10:47 pm according to one website) and then turned in. The clouds came in overnight so we could not see the moon setting this morning. But we were grateful we stayed awake long enough to see half of this rare event.

photos by Tim, Barbara and Nate Rodgers

20 thoughts on “supermoon eclipse”

  1. beautiful, a few sleepless hours watching the moon, the eclipse happened here at 3am, lasted about an hour, lay in bed moon gazing and drinking tea after trying some photos

    1. Ah, that sounds so enchanting, gazing at the moon from your bed. Wish I could have watched the moon from my bed, but I had to step outside, wrapped in a blanket. Had to keep wiping dew off the camera lens, too.

  2. Beautiful, Barbara! We missed the moon on the horizon, too. Clouds were obscuring it. I can see stars in your last image. How wonderful! πŸ™‚

    1. Thank you, Robin. Playful moon, hiding behind clouds and buildings! My son and daughter-in-law were late meeting us and they got to see the stunning moonrise as they were coming over the bridge between New London and Groton. πŸ™‚

  3. I’m so lucky to have so many friends in the Northern Hemisphere who are photographers, so I am not missing out on seeing the total eclipse at all. As you say, the camera doesn’t capture the moon in the same way as the naked eye sees it, so I’m hoping that in eighteen years time the eclipse will be visible in Australia as well. The moon glowing across the water is so lovely, and I love the silhouette of the lighthouse too. Imagine how many people were all looking at the moon at the same time last night! I’ll bet it felt loved. πŸ™‚

    1. Thank you, Joanne, I’m happy you loved the pictures. It was fun hearing what different ones were doing as they watched the eclipse that night. I was so delighted that my son and daughter-in-law were here to share the experience with us – they live so far away now and when they used to live down the road we missed so many celestial events due to cloud cover. In eighteen years I will be looking forward to seeing your Australian photos of the coming supermoon eclipse. πŸ™‚ [Will I be here? If so, I will be 91 76 years old!]

      1. If you are here in eighteen years time, Barbara, (and you will be, just decide you will) I would be thrilled to watch the eclipse with you, so hopefully visibility will be possible in both countries. Wouldn’t that be fabulous? And I will be 75 then, and I’ve decided to live to be one-hundred. πŸ™‚

        1. Since I knew my maternal great-grandmother I’m shooting to live long enough (and then some) to meet my great-granddaughter, should Katie decide to have a child some day. Then I would be the middle of a seven generation maternal span. πŸ™‚ It would definitely be fabulous to share the 2033 supermoon eclipse with you!!!

    1. Thank you, Sybil! It was definitely a thrill – I couldn’t believe how lucky we were. The weather report didn’t look too favorable for a while. Did you see it up there in Nova Scotia?

  4. Great pictures Barbara! And I also appreciate your efforts on our vicarious behalves. I was in Pennsylvania and we tried to view the moon but the clouds came in and the rain came down. Hurray for your shots!

    1. Thanks, Janet! So sorry you missed the show in Pennsylvania – the clouds and rain were due here that night but held off for some reason. Lucky us!

  5. Beautiful! Your pictures are wonderful. My husband and I also enjoyed watching the eclipse. We took a few pictures, and were surprised how difficult it was to get the camera settings right so that we could get good shots of the eclipse.

    1. Thank you, Sheryl! It was hit or miss with the camera for us, too. Tim set up the tripod at the point but I wanted to move around with the camera so we took turns. Back at home we set the tripod up on the balcony and Nate had the patience to fiddle with the settings and wipe the dew off the lens a few times. The last picture is his masterpiece, but we had lots of crummy ones to delete.

    1. You’re welcome, Tiny! It was a treat to finally witness something in the night sky – so often we see nothing but clouds when something exciting is happening up there!

  6. Excellent photography!! I watched the moonrise from our spot in the Boston area, and it was humungous (and as you say, not captured well by camera lens). I did not have the success you had in taking those amazing eclipse shots. I love moon-watching! Thanks for sharing.

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