The moon stops traffic

The first total lunar eclipse for more than three years occured last night. Garry and I were out with a group of friends in Soho. As we came out of the pub around 10:30 we found people everywhere standing in the street looking skyward. Traffic in the area had almost come to a halt.

Our timing was perfect. The earth's shadow had just begun spreading across the moon. The sight was incredible. As we watched the moon was progressively swallowed by darkness, its surface being lit by an ever decreasing crescent of light. The last total eclipse visible from the UK was in May 2004. However, it was obscured by clouds. Last night the sky was clear and the air was still.

The last time I recall seeing a lunar eclipse so clearly was in 1984. I recall this event so well because I was at Toronto Zoo at the time and the moon had been making one of its ghostly white daytime appearances. We'll see another lunar eclipse from the UK on 21 February next year.