If you were having coffee with me I would tell you I love the moon….. there I said it. *From one moon lover to another.*
So obviously a liquid lake would have to be found beneath the surface of Mars before I missed writing about the longest lunar event of the century, wait, they did find liquid water on Mars and I almost missed writing about the total lunar eclipse. In case you didn’t know some researchers have discovered what is believed to be a lake of liquid water under Mars’s south polar ice cap about 12miles (20km) across and estimated to have a depth of about one meter.
If you were having coffee with me I would tell you the lake was discovered using some sciencey radar instruments, its not an exact science but its still science isn’t that ironic, but they are almost sure the readings from their instruments indicate the presence of liquid water. If you are wondering what all the excitement is about, well if they found water on some part of Mars then there’s probably water elsewhere beneath Mars’s surface and if there’s water then that would be like the X on treasure map indicating where life beyond planet earth would be most likely alone.
If you were having coffee with me I would ask you if you think we are alone in the universe? If you never wondered if maybe lightning is really from the camera flashes of highly evolved extra terrestrial species taking photos of us……….
If you were having coffee with me, I would ask you if you went outside on Friday night to witness the longest blood moon of the century, with moon passing right through the center of the Earth’s shadow which where it is the widest. And of course Mars just had to be there, the brightest star next to the moon, you couldn’t miss it.
In the Shona language we say “mwedzi waora” meaning the moon has gone rotten; due to its reddish colour,; which is also why its called the blood moon. The moon goes red because it is in the Earth’s shadow…..

Here’s a fun fact: The Earth’s shadow is black, if it were black the moon would simply vanish from the night sky. The Earth’s shadow is reddish because of The Scattering Effect of light, the same reason the sky is blue, the midday sun looks yellowish-orange and why sunsets and sunrises are reddish/orangeish. You could think of it like this: During an eclipse the moon will be reflecting light from all the sunrises and sunsets happening as the Earth spins away on its axis day turning into night.
If you were having coffee with me I would tell you that if it weren’t for the scattering effect of white light from the sun by the Earth’s atmosphere, then the sky would look black and the sun would be white in colour….. how about that ^_^
If you were having coffee with me I would tell you that in less than a day my country goes to the polls to vote for the next president and government ….. It feels like the whole country has just taken a deep breath and is now holding its collective breath; dare we dream?
~B
We could not watch this eclipse in North America, but I watched it yesterday on YouTube. It was quite beautiful. And the last three nights were clear enough to take photos of the full moon, like my husband enjoys. I do not think much about life on other planets, but my husband is very interested in that possibility.
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It was awesome and cold had to go outside with blanket wrapped around me, its still winter this side of the hemisphere lol.
well the world is mindbogglingly huge the chances we are not alone ♥
~B
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There are so many things to see and do here on this earth that I have not yet–and people I don’t know yet–I suppose that’s why I’m pretty grounded to here. But hubby would say yes yes to that ^_^
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“During an eclipse the moon will be reflecting light from all the sunrises and sunsets happening as the Earth spins away on its axis day turning into night.” I knew the reason for the blood moon, but I never heard it put so poetically – it is red from all of those sunrises and sunsets. Good luck to your country in it’s upcoming election.
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Haha in some circles I am known as the full moon poet, those circles are mostly in my head but still…..
It’s poll day today, thanks!!!
~B
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Hi Beaton,
Welcome to our little virtual weekend party. I always enjoy the diversity of folks who stop by and think this is the first time we’ve both been here during the same weekend.
Thanks for the science snapshot. I’m an lover of but not skilled enough to be a practitioner of most things science. I work in software technologies so some of the newer developments in AI and security are never far from my mind.
I’m almost out of time today but hope you stop by again as I’d love to know how your election turns out and your thoughts on the results. I’m also almost always game for any topic in speculative science.
If you review my coffee share, you’ll get a glance of my current writing project, which if you like to laugh, maybe a collection worth some of your time to check out. You would be most welcome.
Thanks for stopping by.
Warmest regards,
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Hello Gary
Thank you for the visit.
AI development, you guys are the ones who bring about the next apocalypse, rise of the machines, when AI goes sentient haha I have seen that movie, recently had a debate with some friends about out sourcing our ethics to AI …. Good or bad idea…..
Today we vote !!!
~B
Ps I’ll be sure to check your blog many thanks
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Unfortunately I didn’t get to see the blood moon here due to the cloudy sky that evening. Thanks for the pics Beaton. 🙂
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Hi MJ It was Beautiful but of course I am biased, hahaha ^_^ Oh and planet Mars is still close by , the closest it has been since 2003 …
Thanks for stopping
~B
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Now that’s a thought about planet Mars Beaton! Xxx
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I didn’t witness either but the full moon was magnificent here. I love the moon too with all of it’s magical wonders. Moon time is praise and reflection time.
Nice read, as always
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Thank you for dropping by Laura always a pleasure
~B
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Thank God for Elon Musk and his SpaceX programs, we just might be going to Mars soon. Would you wanna go to Mars B?
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Of course I want to go to Mars
~B
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