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Wednesday, November 3, 2010

December's Full Eclipse of The Moon at Solstice!


Remember Dec 21, 2010

The last time we had a full eclipse of the Moon was February 20, 2008. The next time the moon with occur in totality for Northern Americans will not be until April 15, 2014. This years total lunar eclipse will be in totallity from 2:40 a.m until 3:53 a.m. Winter offically begins the same day at 6:38 p.m. The event technically begins at 12:29 a.m. and ends at 5:01 a.m.

An eclipse of the moon happens when the Sun, Earth and Moon align perfectly enough that the Moon passes through the earth's shadow.

The 5 degree tilt of the Moon's orbit prevents an eclipse from occurring every month.

The Earth's atmosphere filters and refracts sunlight into the shadow, hence the varying amount of red and brightness for each ocurrence. With all the volcanic activity this year the moon may have a dull brown to grey
appearance instead of bright red.

The Moon is safe to look at with the unaided eye and perfect for those department store inexpensive scopes and any pair of binoculars or telephoto lens that you may have.

I really enjoy seeing a full moon bright evening sky turn dark allowing all the deep sky objects to become visible through a telescope.

These shots I took during the -26 degree temperatures during the full eclipse in January 2001.

Jupiter still dominates the night sky!

Enjoy!