And 284 people came out to witness it through the telescope.
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Oh what a night
Since I began bringing sidewalk astronomy to Spokane on August 14th, every night, I’ve made sure to tell people to about the lunar eclipse on August 27th. If you didn’t live locally, I told you what time it would be visible wherever you would be.
I don’t market, advertise, or promote in any other way except word of mouth, a few social media posts, and of course, these newsletters. What I do have is 8+ years of experience of teaching on sidewalks and keeping manual data, so I’ve learned how to estimate to a fairly accurate degree (usually within 5%) how many people might visit that night based on foot traffic in the weeks leading up to the event.
After two weeks reading the foot traffic in Spokane, I told myself, “Plan for 200, prepare for 300.” And on the night of the eclipse? 284 people passed through, with about 40-50 who stayed on the bridge most of the main hour of buildup to watch the shadow grow larger and larger.
As the night progressed and darkness fell, time seemed to slow down. Earth’s shadow grew larger on the face of the Moon, crossing the 50% mark right around 8:25pm, and the faint tinge of red appearing by 8:40pm.
9:12pm marked the maximum shadow extent, at which point we could see the shadow now sliding down to the right, causing the illuminated white strip at the top of the Moon to shift to the left.
By this point, the largest crowd had gathered, sharing binoculars, lining up at the telescope to see the red and blue colors cast upon the lunar surface.
With the main sequence of the eclipse finished, another celestial visitor entered the sky: Saturn! While it started low on the horizon and blurry in the thicker atmosphere, by 10pm it had risen high enough for the distortion to clear up and show what people often call a “textbook picture” of Saturn. Yes, it really is that clear.
A fun fact about this lunar eclipse: it’s the first time I’ve ever watched one with other people! Most of the time they take place in the middle of the night, or I’m where the people aren’t! Getting to share this phenomenon with other people who witnessed it right alongside me was so fun, and I think let others truly see the process of sidewalk astro and this eclipse taking place from a whole new perspective. It’s one thing to see it on social media after the fact, and another to experience it with others standing around you.
Thank you for showing up, Spokane. I’m in town for a few more days, but my final day of sidewalk astronomy will be Monday, August 31st. Even as I type those words, I’m choking up a bit. Even with my van issue (getting fixed Monday morning finally), Spokane has been an incredible, family-friendly city to visit, and I’m glad to have gotten to get to know many of you who have passed through — and even someone who had previously met me in San Diego!
I’ll see if I can’t make it back next summer…
This world is beautiful.
Alex
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