I heard a new phrase tonight. “Watch out everyone, I’m going to shift the telescope dome.” The Harvard student astronomers were hosting a viewing of this evening’s lunar eclipse, and Patrick and I made an impromptu visit. The telescope is situated on the roof of Harvard’s Science Center, right near the Yard. Take the elevator to the 8th floor, then walk up two flights. The view of the city from this roof was just as pretty as the eclipse itself, with Harvard’s steeples right in front, the architecture around the Square in the foreground, and Boston off in the distance. And the place was packed; this is definitely a Boston Secret. Too bad it’s only open to the Harvard community.

Their biggest telescope (the domed one) was overkill for moonwatching. You could see a small sliver of the corner of the moon in very good detail. But they did have a smaller scope with a nice view, and the thing looked great with the naked eye. Good to be up there with everyone, huddling in the cold and watching the sky and city. I like astronomical events because they bring everyone together with a common cause, even if the cause is just “wow, that’s cool!” Walking around Harvard Yard afterwards, everyone was stopped in their tracks paying a gawking tribute to the moon.

I saw a sign on a light post earlier today, “LOST COYOTE” — with a photo of a coyote and phone number snippets at the bottom. I didn’t know there was an eclipse, so I didn’t get it at the time, but I have to say someone has a good sense of humor.