Starlight, Starry Night

[That night, at everyone's houses….]

"Wow, what a truly beautiful night, Teddy," said Sweetheart. Don't you agree?

"So what?" said Teddy. They're just stars.

"I think they're really truly beautiful stars," said Sweetheart. *the rest of the group appear* What are you all doing here?

"We brought over my telescope so we can all look the stars," said Bright Eyes. Hope that's okay. *Sweetheart's mother pops in*

"Sure is," said Sweetheart's mother. Is it alright with each of your parents?

"Of course," said Bright Eyes. They all asked before coming over to my house.

"Alright, then," said Sweetheart's mother. *she leaves the room*

"Now we just need a place to set up," said Bright Eyes.

"How about right where we are?" asked Sweetheart.

"Hmm, do you have a porch, Sweetheart?" asked Starlight.

"Yeah, that'd be perfect," said Melody.

"Well we could use the backyard," said Sweetheart.

"Great, then let's go there," said Bright Eyes. We'll follow you, Sweetheart. [In the backyard…]

"Wow, look at how many stars there are," said Bright Eyes.

"I can't even count them all," said Melody.

"Look, there's the large spoon," said Starlight.

"There's the small one," said Patch.

"Shooting star, I see a shooting star!" shouted Melody.

"Uh guys, what's wrong with the moon?" asked Clover.

"Hey, Clover's right," said Starlight It's getting darker.

"Let me look this up," said Bright Eyes. I brought over my laptop in case we couldn't figure out what something was in the sky. According to Youhoo Responses, it's a Total Lunar Eclipse, which means the moon is behind the Earth and the most of the sun's light is blocked, except for a red ring, which like tonight, casts on the moon, giving it it's color.

"How long does it stay like that?" asked Sweetheart.

"It says here that a Total Lunar Eclipse can last up to 107 minutes," said Bright Eyes. That's over an hour.

"Cool, we should watch and see what it does," said Starlight. *the group looks into the telescope*

"It's not even moving," said Clover.

"How can that be when the sun comes up and down every day?" asked Starlight.

"The sun and moon never actually rise or set," said Bright Eyes. They're always out in space, it's because of our earth tilting that they seem to rise and set.

"Tilting?" questioned Clover. That doesn't sound good.

"We never feel it tilting, Clover," said Bright Eyes. It's too slow for us to feel.

"Oh good," said Clover.

"Look, the moon is truly losing its color," said Sweetheart.

"Must mean that the eclipse is ending," said Bright Eyes.

"Are there any other eclipses we could see?" asked Sweetheart.

"Hmm, let me check," said Bright Eyes. There are other Lunar Eclipses but you won't see as much. We saw a rare one tonight and even the sun can be eclipsed.

"What does that mean when it does?" asked Clover.

"It means that for a few minutes the sun will be blocked by the moon," said Bright Eyes.

"Can we see it?" asked Starlight.

"It's dangerous and rare," said Bright Eyes. It says to not look at the sun for any reason but it also says that if you have a Solar Filter for your telescope, you can look at the sun but I don't have one. Solar eclipses don't happen very often and when they do, they're generally on the other side of the Earth or at really rare times here but really early in the morning.

"When's the next one?" asked Patch.

"Says here July 11, 2010," said Bright Eyes. That's a long way away.

"Aw," moaned everyone else.

"It's getting late, we'd better get back home," said Melody.

"I had a really truly fun time with you all," said Sweetheart. With them here tonight, it was extra magical