When I was a kid, my dad built a telescope and we would look at the planets and moon. I remember seeing Saturn for the first time and being amazed and how perfectly I could see the rings. Ever since that time I have had a fascination with the night sky and the last couple of nights were ones I will never forget.
On 30 December I was walking back to my CHU when I noticed a Soldier staring up at the sky. Directly overhead was the moon surrounded by a ring of light. At first, I thought there must be some kind of glare coming from one of the generator lights but as I moved locations, it became apparent that this halo was indeed in the night sky. It was spectacular! I had never even heard of this phenomenon but I’m certainly glad I got to see it!
The following day, I was telling people about the halo around the moon when someone mentioned the moon would be a Blue Moon that evening. I’m not sure if this was in the news or not at home but when you are deployed, you are so sheltered from what is going on with the rest of the world. A Blue Moon is the second full moon in a month. This occurs once every 2.7 years and the last time it occurred on New Year’s Eve was in 1990. The next time it lands on New Year’s Eve, it will be in 2028. I can’t say it looked any different than other full moons but it certainly was symbolic of my time here.
Some Soldiers put together a really nice party to ring in the New Year. They used a crane to hoist a lighted Red Bull to use as the “ball” that drops at midnight. In the MWR tent, various tournaments were going on such as; cribbage, black jack and Texas Hold Em. I didn’t stick around…something about getting up at 0530 in the morning didn’t appeal to staying up late. The best part of this day…I’ll be home in 2010!
Lunar Halo. This is a picture from the internet since my camera was at the office but this is exactly the way it appeared!
New Year's Eve 2009 Blue Moon!
The Red Bull hanging from a crane.
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