Celestial Party - 10 Dec 2011

The much awaited lunar eclipse happened last Saturday. At first, we were hesitant to go to the National Planetarium in city centre because of bad weather forecast. By the time we arrived, it was past 9.00 p.m., there was already a big crowd. However, the cool breeze and open space made it a comfortable place to wait for the eclipse.

Plenty of telescopes to go around......

While waiting for the eclipse, we took some time to pose with the telescope. The queue to go on top of the Observatory Tower was too long, so we hung around the exhibition gallery and entertained ourselves with a virtual trip to the space in the 360-degree dome theatre. There were also quizzes throughout the night, and we won a mini telescope!!

The bonus for the night, we saw Jupiter, the biggest planet within our solar system as well as Orion, often referred to as The Hunter, a prominent constellation and visible throughout the world. It is one of the most conspicuous, and most recognizable constellations in the night sky. Not forgetting the blinking lights across the night sky from flying airplanes.

Finally, the highlight of the night at 10.30 pm, we saw the full lunar eclipse. We were thankful the sky was clear at the critical moment so we could see the moon turning into pinkish orange.

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