“ Ma petite ,” he would say to the duck, as if it were a little girl with pigtails. “Today a storm came in from the north. The old men said they'd never seen the sea so angry. I thought of you. I thought: she would have been afraid of the thunder. I would have held you.”
Grosse Fesse, which translates to "great sausage" in German, is a type of lunar eclipse that occurs when the Moon passes through the Earth's umbra, or the darker inner shadow of the planet. During a Grosse Fesse, the Moon appears to take on a reddish hue, sometimes referred to as a "blood moon," due to the way the Earth's atmosphere scatters sunlight. grosse fesse
And in the harbor below, the waves beat against the stone, indifferent and eternal, as they always had. As they always would. “ Ma petite ,” he would say to
Every evening, after the last boat docked and the other men staggered to the tavern for calvados and laughter, Étienne walked the opposite direction—down the crumbling path to the old lighthouse. No one followed him there. No one asked why. I thought of you
No one laughed.
Grosse Fesse events are relatively rare, making them a treat for astronomers and stargazers. To observe a Grosse Fesse, one need only be on the night side of the Earth during the eclipse, with a clear view of the Moon. Binoculars or a telescope can enhance the viewing experience, but are not necessary.
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