Eclipse of the Flower Moon

May 26, 2021

Immense Heaven

We … you, me, all the living beings, waters and seven continents of Earth, all the planets in our solar neighborhood, along with billions of other suns and planets in the luminous spread of the Milky Way, plus one hundred thousand other galaxies ... make up “immense heaven,” known as Laniakea Supercluster, just one of, more or less, ten million other superclusters.

Maybe we should work a little harder at just getting along and protecting this tiny blue planet we call our home in this suburban outpost of immense heaven. -- Joyce Wycoff More: YouTube: Laniakea: Our home supercluster

Photo Courtesy of Vahé Peroomian, who says, “Boot Arch is one of the iconic arches in the Alabama Hills just outside Lone Pine, California… I was at the arch at the end of April to see whether the Moon would line up properly during the eclipse and whether it would be above the horizon during totality. It was going to be close, especially with twilight beginning right as totality ended… The Milky Way was visible for perhaps 10 minutes, but to see the Milky Way slowly appear as the Moon’s brilliance faded was worth all the stress and planning.” http://www.vahep.com/

How did they figure out the complex relationship of the ever-moving Sun, Earth and Moon? How did they stay warm? Were they honored by their tribes, or thought fools for their folly? How did they record their observations?

What drove those watchers to sit alone (presumably) night after night, gradually constructing their theories while their friends and families were snug in their beds? I know they had thousands of years to assemble this understanding, but each one of them only had the standard number of years to observe, learn and share their insights.

It’s almost enough to tempt me to believe in ancient astronauts.

Bundled up with a mug of hot tea on a cold night watching the lunar eclipse of the flower moon, I think of the thousands, hundreds of thousands, of ancestors who sat watching the night skies, trying to make sense of the Universe. My questions are as endless as the stars above and, when one falls, I wonder what its absence signifies.

Without telescopes, those sky watchers of old noted the difference between stars and planets, which makes me wonder how long and how often I would have had to sit through cold, dark nights before I could have detected even that fundamental fact? And, without pencil and paper or my trusty laptop, how would I have captured and shared my insights?

As I watch the moon gradually dim, I’ve learned that it is my shadow passing over it … well mine and the other almost 8 billion people inhabiting our home planet of Earth. But, what did the ancients think? Photo courtesy of Kim Grandfield. The super moon combined with an eclipse sent photographers scrambling for the best views, with the east side of the Sierra being a favorite target. Kim, a mountaineering photographer, drove six hours to Lone Pine, using Google Earth and photo apps to determine tripod location in order to capture this unique alignment with Keeler Needle just left of Mt. Whitney.

The I you think you are is a community ... a we ... a mixed species blend of animal, bacteria, fungi, virus, all working in concert to create the living you.