October 8 Total Lunar Eclipse

 The early bird gets treated to a wondrous sight when the moon is full at any time, but when a total lunar eclipse is on the calendar, prayers go out for clear skies and October 8 was an astronomy nerd's dream. 

When I arose at 4:15 AM the full moon was just kissed by Earth's shadow...

The moon was extra bright before the beginning due to the low angle of incidence of the sunlight on Earth's atmosphere.

I turned on the coffee pot and prepared to wait for the show to unfold. A lunar eclipse is a much more leisurely undertaking than a solar eclipse so viewers have the luxury of a hot cup of coffee in the wee early hours. This entire event lasts for 3 hours and 19 minutes.

At this time I heard the first "HOOT" of the Great Horned Owl. First the male with his deep baritone, the the tenor of the female.

Finally at 5:25 CDT totality began when the umbra, the darkest part of Earth's shadow, completely enveloped our natural satellite. 

 During totality, I heard bill clacking and other vocalizations from the trees behind the fence. Suddenly 4 ghostly apparitions circled overhead clacking and grunting for what seemed like an eon. They were very pale underneath, and true to form, not a wing whisper was audible. Truly they are silent predators. 

Experimenting with different settings on the camera, I fought the increasing humidity for clear, unmuddied photos.

I don't have a tripod adaptor that fits the camera, so each shot involved some intense breath-holding on my part. 

Upon processing my photos, using a tip from an anonymous source, I scanned each shot intensely and was able to locate a small blue dot just to the left of the totally eclipsed moon - the planet Uranus. 

My best lunar eclipse ever; and, time for a nap.