Xsplorin: Lunar Eclipse 2018

Dennis and I made a point to view the recently touted Super Blue Blood Moon Lunar Eclipse, which took place this morning, January 31, 2018. We were not on the west coast where viewing was to be ideal, so we were not sure how much of it we'd be able to see on the West Bay of Galveston Island, Texas. Nonetheless, we gave it a go.

As we stepped out of HaRVee at 5:45 a.m. CT, we could see the lunar eclipse part had already started. Dennis did some surveillance yesterday afternoon to find a good viewing spot. We drove

to this spot about 1.5 miles away so we could view the moon over the bay with minimal disruption from nearby homes and businesses. We were hoping to photograph the blood moon as it set behind the bay. This spot would have offered a delightful reflection of the large red-orange moon on the water. However, NASA was correct. Galveston was not ideal for the average person to view this phenomenon in totality.

The moon disappeared from view as the last sliver was covered in the eclipse. We waited, hoping it would reappear, but no such luck. So here are a few of the photos I took, handheld, because we didn't pack a tripod for our journey.

Best shot of eclipsing moon reflecting on bay

The sunrise was quite colorful behind us and gave way to an amazing view of the surrounding marshlands.

Early dawn colors

After sunrise, fog begins rolling in over the marsh

Rosy pink sunrise reflecting on the bayou

Flocks coming in to feed

Looks like we were near the Ganges Bayou. Here we saw many birds, some species for the first time, like the spoonbill crane, great white egret, ibis, white egret and the great blue heron. We even saw pelicans, sandpipers and a white owl in flight, but they moved too quickly for good photos.