Observation Post

Over the break, on the night of December 21st, I viewed the lunar eclipse at 3:30 AM and a meteor flash across the sky around 10 PM.  This meteor was likely apart of the Ursids meteor shower that occurred that night.  This astronomical combo of events was really exciting to watch.  The moon actually appeared much smaller than I had predicted, since I expected it to be the size of the Harvest moon.  Also the moon was at a rust orange at this stage.  This lunar eclipse was considered unique to astronomers since it also marked the day of winter solstice, which happens only three times between 1638 and 2094!