Annular Eclipse - May 20, 2012 - Denver, CO

Yesterday, my family and I headed over to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science to gather with a few hundred of our closest friends. The occasion? An annular eclipse.

Now, I have to admit, I can't ever remember hearing that term until a few weeks ago. No matter. It was a great experience. Oh, sure, the clouds did interfere with some of the fun. But, we didn't get completely shut out and the sun was not obscured during the height of the eclipse. So, if we weren't going to get the full show, at least Mother Nature allowed us to see the highlights.

I didn't go with the intent of taking a collection of pictures. All I really wanted was a shot of my kids watching the event and a photo of the actual eclipse. But, something happened once the eclipse really got underway. This entertaining little show came to feel like a significant event...something worthy of more than a couple of snapshots. So, I wandered out of my collapsible lounge chair long enough to get a sense of the enjoyment it was bringing to the large group gathered on the west side of the DMNS, in City Park.

Turns out we have another significant celestial event in a few weeks - the June 5-6 transit of Venus in front of the sun. I'm planning to be back at the DMNS for that one, too. Even though photographing that event is likely going to require more specialized equipment than I have, how can you pass up on an event that only happens one or two centuries! Even if I don't wind up with any great pictures from the Venus event, I'm happy with the photos I have to remember the annular eclipse by... and, I can live with being 1 for 2 for events this cool! (Does it make me a nerd to think these things are cool? Hell, who cares...they ARE cool!)

Cheers, all.