After my Women in Music, Polka Time, and Classic Country radio shows on WTIP yesterday, I turned up the long, cold Gunflint Trail. By the time I got as far as the Pincushion Mountain Overlook Trailhead, the eclipse of the super perigee (point of closest approach) moon had begun. I pulled into the parking lot, and took several pictures. The air temperature was at -16 degrees Fahrenheit, and I had to keep wiping the ice off the camera lens. My first battery fizzled, and I replaced with the fully charged one from inside my car. Amazingly enough, that was the warm part of the journey.
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| Moon from Pincushion Mountain Overlook at ~9:45 PM. Temperature -16 F. |
I continued up the Gunflint Trail, glimpsing at the moon through my moon roof from time to time. The next photo stop I made was at the Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department Hall # 1 by Poplar Lake. Temperatures outside had plummeted as far as -29 degrees Fahrenheit, and had risen to -28 F. by the time I got out of my car at the fire hall.
I quickly took some more pictures, being careful not to breathe towards the camera lens, as the moisture would instantly freeze. Even with my precautions, I still had to wipe off ice several times. The moon was nearing full eclipse by this time.
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| Moon From GTVFD Fire Hall 1 at ~10:27 PM. Temperature -28 F. |
I got back into the car, and continued to Gunflint Lake. On the journey, I had my air heaters and seat heaters on high. The inside of the windows behind me were fully coated with ice from my breath, although I was warm in the driver's seat. Temperatures ranged from -26 to -29 degrees Fahrenheit. When I parked my car, the final temperature was -28 degrees F. On the way, I was secretly hoping for -30 Fahrenheit, so I would have better stories later on. Part of the fun of living in far northern Minnesota are the great weather stories you accumulate over the years.
By the time I parked, the moon was fully eclipsed. I took a few pictures, unloaded my car, and took some more pictures from my deck. A short distance away, Gunflint Lake sounded an occasional thunderous boom from the rapid production of ice.
I experimented with long exposures, hand held shots, and pictures taken from my tripod. The best pictures seemed to come from the Handheld Night Shot setting, taken from the top of the tripod, with a timer.
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| Full Eclipse of the Moon from Gunflint Lake at ~11:15 PM. Temperature -28 F. |
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| Full Eclipse of the Moon |
After taking many pictures, I went inside to warm up. It took quite a while for my feet to get warm, and I will be re-hydrating my hands for the next few days, but it was worth it to see this beautiful eclipse of the perigee moon.
I'm thankful to have had such a clear night. As I write this, it is cloudy, and the National Weather Service is predicting a 100% chance of snow this evening.
I went outside one more time before bed. By this time, it was the next day, and the moon was coming out of eclipse.
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| Waning Lunar Eclipse from Gunflint Lake after Midnight on January 21, 2019 |
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