Total Eclipse of the Moon

At first we didn't believe Kandice when she said, "Look guys, I think there's an eclipse or something".  We all thought it was a cloud covering the moon.  But sure enough, Kandice was right and we all paused for about an hour last week to marvel at the total lunar eclipse that darkened the sky.  Pete brought out the spotting scope and oohs and ahhs were heard as the earth's shadow slowly covered the moon and the stars brightened. 

In her book Teaching a Stone to Talk, Annie Dillard remarks about her own experience with an eclipse:

"What you see in an eclipse is entirely different from what you know.  It is especially different for those of us whose grasp of astronomy is so frail that, given a flashlight, a grapefruit, two oranges, and fifteen years, we still could not figure out which way to set the clocks for Daylight Saving Time.  Usually it is a bit of a trick to keep your knowledge from blinding you.  But during an eclipse it is easy.  What you see is much more convincing than any wild-eyed theory you may know."