Lunar eclipse

Last night went to see the lunar eclipse at Griffith Park near the Autry Museum. The star party was organized by Griffith Observatory and many local astronomers with the LA Astronomy Society and the Sidewalk Astronomers brought their telescopes and enthusiasm to share with the casual observers like myself. The media was out in force with news vans from all the local television stations. My buddy and I talked with a number of the astronomers but clearly our favorite was the high school girl who built her own telescope. Her 10 inch Newtonian reflector with a Dobbsonian mount gave the clearest images of Jupiter that night. And to top it off, her enthusiaism for astronomy was infectious.

As for the lunar eclipse, it started while the sun was still up and so the moon was hard to see with all the smog and light of the city. But as the night wore on and the moon rose higher, it was a great sight and everyone was enjoying the views with binoculars and telescopes.