Gregg D. Kemp

Mom, Carmela and I went out to dinner at Awful Arther’s. It was sushi night and it was wonderful. Carmela and I sampled the shrimp, salmon and softshell crab sushi. Softshell crabs are a local delicacy and they were delicious in the sushi, with the legs popping out of the roll.

After dinner, we drove by a house in Kill Devil Hills that was featured on the Today show. Mom loves stuff like these.

Then we all headed to Bodie Island lighthouse where I set out the can camera around 9:30, well before the moon rise. It was another perfectly clear night and we all stared at the stars for a while. Its really amazing to get away from lights and see the sky.

Cold Moon, moonrise/sunrise, December 21, 2005

Timeline:

December 21, 2005 Eastern Standard Time

Sunset                 4:53 p.m.
Moonrise              10:31 p.m.
Started photo          9:30 p.m.

December 22, 2005 Eastern Standard Time
Closed photo           6:50 a.m.
Sunrise                7:10 a.m.
Moonset               11:36 a.m. on following day

Phase of the Moon on 21 December: waning gibbous with 69% of the Moon’s visible disk illuminated.

It was brisk, but not that cold for this “cold moon” outing. My mother was visiting my wife and I and I invited her along. It was fun trying to explain pinhole photography to her. She pretended to be interested. And, she really was interested in seeing the resulting photo.

The sky is clear again this evening and I’d love to set out the camera again, with color film this time. The moon came up a bright orange, passing through some clouds. And, the sunrise the next morning was brilliant red. Really need this one in color, although I do like the black and white.

I have developed some leaks in my tin can camera which I need to fix. We’re taking my mother out to dinner this evening, so I may be able to set the camera out after dinner. The moon will be less bright of course, but the colors should be interesting.

19 December 2005, Eastern Standard Time

Sunset                  4:52 p.m.
Start photo             8:35 p.m.
Moonrise                8:35 p.m.
End photo               6:40 a.m. on following day
Sunrise                 7:09 a.m. on following day
Moonset                10:48 a.m. on following day

Phase of the Moon: waning gibbous with 85% of the Moon’s visible disk illuminated.

19 December 2005

The full cold moon was yesterday, but it was overcast at dusk and rained much of the day here. The forecast for tonight is for clear skies. This is an ideal night to start a photo because the moon rises later in the day, closer to dark. I like having some of the twilight in the photo, but not too much.

Moon/Sun data for Manteo, Dare County, North Carolina
(longitude W75.7, latitude N35.9):

Friday, 16 December 2005 Eastern Standard Time
Sunset                  4:50 p.m.
Photo started          5:20 p.m.
Moonrise                5:34 p.m.
Photo ended            6:55 a.m. on folling day
Sunrise
Moonset                 9:04 a.m. on following day
Moon Illumination    93.835%

My plan is for 2 cameras tonight, one at the Manteo waterfront, and one at Bodie Lighthouse.

I set out only one camera, at Bodie Lighthouse at 5:20 pm.

Cold Moon, Bodie Island Lighthouse