Moon – Eskildoodle Photos and Feelings

Monsoon Moon

Yesterday the waning gibbous moon glanced briefly through the stormy clouds of a stationary front. It brought hopes for rain that was so needed and has been so elusive. Today, thunder and lightning preceded the dawn; it’s wet outside with more rain on its way, finally. #moon #stormclouds #rain

Little Big Moon

Early one morning the Moon showed its mountains, volcanoes, craters, and cracks through my backyard telescope in great detail. Later I turned the scope towards Saturn, which was about 10 degrees ahead of the moon, and inserted its photo in the image above for comparison. Both are at the same magnification. Saturn shows its famousContinue reading “Little Big Moon”

Daytime Occultation of Venus

Wednesday, June 17, 2026, the Moon passed from right to left in front of Venus during the daytime. The right photo shows Venus to the left of the approaching Moon, and the left photo shows Venus to the right of the departing Moon. It is hidden behind the Moon on the central image. The lastContinue reading “Daytime Occultation of Venus”

Earthshine

This morning’s thin crescent moon held “the old moon in the new moon’s arms” as earthshine illuminated the darker portion of the moon. On the moon, the earth appeared as a shining blue and white globe four times as large and many times as bright as the full moon as seen from earth. #moon #crescentContinue reading “Earthshine”

Sibling Synergy

The “old Moon” rests “in the arms” of a new, grinning, crescent Moon with earthshine illuminating the portion of the Moon that is shadowed from direct sunlight. Above and to the left, Venus adds to the beauty of the scene like a supportive sibling, the sister of Moon and Earth. Indeed, they are all brothersContinue reading “Sibling Synergy”

My Side of the Clouds

Looking up at the morning sky, I couldn’t help wondering what it was like on the other side of the clouds. The ever-deepening blue of the sky gave a hint. As the Artemis II astronauts gazed back at a tiny, crescent earth from beyond the moon, their comments described its blue and white color standingContinue reading “My Side of the Clouds”

Welcome Home

Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen have been there and back. They set records for the farthest distance from earth and for the fastest speed that humans have ever traveled, and then they safely returned on target and on time. I’m “over the moon!” #artemisII #moon

Moon Near and Far

The top photo was taken from Artemis 2 as it was swinging around the far side of the moon. The lower image was taken from my driveway in 2020 through a telescope and and barely captures features that are easily seen from space. Grimaldi is always visible from earth when it is sunlit, but MareContinue reading “Moon Near and Far”

Moon Shot

Artemis was on its way to the moon when this photo was taken yesterday morning, only it was not headed directly towards the moon at that time. It was headed towards a spot to the left of the palm trees where the moon would be as Artemis passed around it today. It took a lotContinue reading “Moon Shot”

Evening Apparition

Tranquility descended upon the scene as the sun set, the sky darkened, and the colors deepened. Soft sounds of the neighborhood did little to disturb the scene; the clucking of neighbor’s chickens, chirping of birds, and the soft crunch of dry leaves as I shuffled about the backyard and found a stump for a seat.Continue reading “Evening Apparition”