“Cold.” 🙂
Life consists of stories. Science is part of life. Don’t deny that. Enjoy it. 🙂
TRANSCRIPT:
In January 2018, Nature treated the North of Norway to a rather unique event. The Super Blue Blood Moon Total Eclipse, if that is its name. It was wonderful!
After I had finished the rounds on radio about the event, my wife and I stood at the lighthouse some place North, expecting a once-in-a-lifetime event.
I felt all giddy and everything, but it seemed as if this century-unique event did not seem to incite excitement in my wife.
“It’s cold.” she said.
I could not possibly argue with that. There was fog along the horizon, too, so chances were we would not even be seeing the total phase of the eclipse. Still, I was not going to have any of it.
“See!” I said. “There it is!”
“Looks like a moon phase, to be honest.” my wife said.
I had to agree to that as well, of course.
“But it’s the wrong way round, see. If this was a moon phase, then you’d see a bite-out on the right-hand side, at least right now.”
“I’m still cold.” she said. “Can we go home?”
I turned away from the moon and towards my wife.
“You really want to go home, hm?” I said. “I can’t miss this, though. Here, have my jacket.”
I took off my jacket and put it on top of hers onto her shoulders. She looked at me as if I had just eaten an elephant.
“What are you doing?” she said, while accepting the jacket. “Don’t be silly!”
“I understand that this looks like a normal moon phase to you.” I said. “Who cares about the left-right thing, right?”
“Why would you give me your jacket, you silly man?” she said.
“But, you know, it’s much more than that. I mean, do you have any idea how much had to happen for the moon to look like this, right now, here, where we live?”
“Alex.”
“I mean it, too.” I said. “Sun, Moon, and Earth aligned to have the Earth cast a shadow on the moon, at a time when the moon stands low enough for us to see it tinted red due to the Earth’s atmosphere filtering out the rest of the light. That’s why the sky is blue, by the way, same thing, you know.”
“Alex!”
“And then, on top of that, right now, the moon is about as close as it gets to us.” I reached out towards the moon. “Super Blue Blood Moon, eclipsed! Once you know all that you know just how beautiful and special it really is.”
I waited for her to interrupt me once more. She did not. I turned to her.
“The knowledge is what makes this special, if you will.” I said.
“You’re shaking, you silly ass!” she said. “You really don’t care about getting sick tomorrow, right?”
She embraced me, and I received her.
“I wish the kids could see us now.” she said and turned to face the moon together with me.
