Opportunity to view eclipse eludes those who choose to sleep instead
Before dawn's early light
October 08, 2007
Sometimes you can see them, sometimes you can’t. Sometimes clouds get in the way, or you’re just not standing or residing in the right spot on earth to see a really good lunar eclipse. But if you did set an alarm clock to wake yourself up, you had an opportunity to see a truly spectacular sight during the early morning hours of August 28, 2007.
MdCV science teacher Margie Beatty said, “I saw the whole thing. It was awesome. I got up at about ten till (4:50 a.m.). The eclipse was so beautiful, and the stars were so beautiful. I was so in awe of just the stars. I was sitting on the back porch, and my dog came up and sat with me. It was the best feeling in the world. And guess what, I saw a falling star!” Beatty said she did try to wake up husband, so that he could view the eclipse too, “But all I got was rrrrrrr, and I guess that means no.”
Junior Vickie Coffey said, “It was the first one I had ever seen. I walked right out my back door and there it was, and it was like, ‘Oh my gosh!’ Mrs. Beatty told our class, ‘Make sure you guys get up at 4 o’clock in the morning and watch it until six.’ I thought, ‘Okay, I’ll get up at 4. It’s only an hour earlier than I usually get up,’ but Robert didn’t get me up until 5:45. I told him, ‘Oh, you were supposed to get me up at four, and he said, ‘You were suppose to set your alarm.’ She added, “It was really pretty, though.”
Principal Steve Burkdoll said he viewed it twice: He got up at 4 a.m. to watch it briefly, then went back to bed. He saw it again at 6 a.m., as he walked out the door to come to the school. He said his wife Bev woke him up for the first viewing.
Senior Kenny Lowe said he also got up at 4 a.m to watch the eclipse: “Me and my dad were standing outside. We looked up, and it (the moon) was light on one side and dark on the other.” Kenny explained that his dad is awake by 4 a.m. all the time. Kenny, however, made plans to be up early to watch this special event. “So I watched it on the lawn chair until 6 p.m. It was nice. I liked it. It was pretty awesome.”
Brenda Snyder, the FACS teacher, said she really did not have a good view of the event because of the trees in her yard.
A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes through the earth's shadow. This particular eclipse reached totality around 4:52 a.m. As the sun began to rise, however, the eclipse began to fade, losing its contrast against the brightening sky.
Lunar eclipses typically happen once or twice a year. The last lunar eclipse occurred in March 2007. The next one will be February 21, 2008. For more information about eclipses, visit NASA’s website: http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/eclipse.html
