By Janet Siers
304-655-7254
countrymebe@yahoo.com
It's been a snowy week and is white over here on the West Fork. My dog is nice and is gentle with children, he also prefers to be outside. I don't know what breed he is but so far it's all good. Named him Bear since I thought he was a bear underneath the hog house.
This year is a very special solstice. The first day of winter falls on the Full Cold Moon. Now here's the whammy - December 21 is also a total lunar eclipse, since 1793, when the old farmer's almanac began tracking heavenly events and seasonal changes the moon has been full on the first day of winter just nine times.
While merely coincidence that the eclipse falls on the same day as
this year's winter solstice, for the eclipse watchers, this means that the moon will appear very high in the night sky, as the solstice marks the time when the earth's axial is farthest away from the sun.
Lunar eclipses are perfectly safe to view without special glasses or equipment. Tuesday's eclipse will begin 1:33 a.m. EST and will continue through 5:01 a.m., 3:15 a.m. would be the best time to
view the skies.
As I was reading of this event I also learned that only one previous instance of an eclipse matching the same calender date and that is December 21, 1638, and the next will be in the year 2094.
There's a lot of stuff
going to
happen in the galaxy at this time. It is just amazing to me.
Enjoy!
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