THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 7, 1996 TAG: 9604050231
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 09 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY NANCY LEWIS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines
The pale orb that hung as though suspended on an invisible wire in the waning daylight, waxed pink as the blue sky deepened to purple, then blazed orange and red against the night's black backdrop.
Wednesday evening's clear skies and balmy air, coupled with an influx of spring-break vacationers, turned the Boardwalk into a theater, the sky became a stage - the moon, a quick-change artist.
The rare total lunar eclipse took many by surprise, but for amateur astronomers who'd long anticipated the event, it was the stuff skylab dreams are made of. The lengthy fadeout had hundreds of gazers awestruck, and only the inline skaters whizzing past and a few small children seemed oblivious.
``I want you to look at the moon, Sara,'' insisted one woman, trying to get a fidgety youngster's attention focused on the sky. ``See how dark it is. It's because the earth is blocking the sunshine.'' The girl glanced up briefly, shrugged her shoulders, then scampered off.
Vacationing Canadians Kathleen and Roger Glazin hadn't realized they were in for such a spectacular sight. As he walked out onto the Boardwalk at twilight, Roger Glazin noticed that ``it just got dark all of a sudden.''
The Lampella family - Leslie, Jim, Matthew and Andrew - had come to the Oceanfront to get a good look at the astronomical event. Seven-year-old Matthew was excited by the ``crescent'' that was forming at the lower edge of the red globe as the sun's rays began to hit it directly after being blocked by the Earth for nearly 90 minutes.
Five-year-old Andrew had more trouble trying to articulate his feelings, but was clearly impressed.
``We're lucky it was a full moon,'' said their father, Jim.
Joe Frizzelle, an amateur astronomer, was exuberant at what he said was a highly unusual outer-space event. He was helping fellow sky buff David Gaskins adjust a high-powered telescope and camera as the Earth's shadow began to creep upward on the darkened moon. They hoped to get a shot of a lunar crater half-lit by the sun.
Some, though, were less impressed.
Four other Canadian visitors - Radek Zelechowski, Mike Wilson, Peter Lohnes and Dan Chow - sat on a concrete step, their feet in the sand, and hadn't noticed the red glow in the sky.
``Cool,'' said Zelechowski nonchalantly.
And Bob Boorse, a plumber from Pennsylvania, didn't realize that he was strategically positioned for the celestial happening as he sat on a Boardwalk bench.
``I wondered where (the moon) went,'' said Boorse. ``I came out of the bar about an hour ago and thought maybe I drank it away.'' ILLUSTRATION: A moon that turned various colors before being darkened by
Earth's shadow was the star Wednesday in clear skies over Virginia
Beach. The balmy weather also lured many spring-break vacationers to
the Boardwalk to watch the show.
Staff photo by
BILL TIERNAN
by CNB