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Solstice Lunar Eclipse

Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 7:40 pm
by caglewis
http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/sc ... ceeclipse/

Tues, 12/21 will indeed be the darkest day of the year - fewest hours of daylight and the moon also darkened by an eclipse. Right now, here in Ironton, that big old full moon is shining brightly in a clear sky. Mercy it will be cold, but I think I'll have to carry my big 12X60 binoculars out for a glance or two. 10 years and 11 months ago my granddaughter was born in Cincinnati in between blizzards in 0 degree weather on the night of a lunar eclipse. Her older siblings and I checked out the progress of the eclipse, in brief dashes out, after we got back home from the hospital about 11 PM that night.
I've given her grief all her life about how dramatically she staged her entrance into this world.
The eclipse begins on Tuesday morning, Dec. 21st, at 1:33 am EST (Monday, Dec. 20th, at 10:33 pm PST). At that time, Earth's shadow will appear as a dark-red bite at the edge of the lunar disk. It takes about an hour for the "bite" to expand and swallow the entire Moon. Totality commences at 02:41 am EST (11:41 pm PST) and lasts for 72 minutes. If you're planning to dash out for only one quick look -­ it is December, after all -­ choose this moment: 03:17 am EST (17 minutes past midnight PST). That's when the Moon will be in deepest shadow, displaying the most fantastic shades of coppery red.

Re: Solstice Lunar Eclipse

Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 8:16 pm
by racenut70
If I can stay awake I want to view the Solstice Lunar Eclipse. Hard to believe that tomorrow is the first day of winter...going to be a long winter.

Re: Solstice Lunar Eclipse

Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2010 8:17 am
by Leo Byrd
First day of winter and a few more minutes of sunlight beginning today and every day........until Sept 20 when we reverse the process.....

Re: Solstice Lunar Eclipse

Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2010 11:38 am
by Leo Byrd
Tobias wrote:
Leo Byrd wrote:First day of winter and a few more minutes of sunlight beginning today and every day........until Sept 20 when we reverse the process.....
Summer Solstice is on June 21, 2011 @ 7:28 A.M. EDT....

We will add a few more minutes of sunlight until this date and then...we reverse the process.

:mrgreen:
you are correct, I was thinking of Autumnal Equinox which occurs opposite the Vernal Equinox in March. I think this is the day the earth starts its northward trek in its elliptical orbit around the sun.

Equinox

Re: Solstice Lunar Eclipse

Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2010 3:51 pm
by Burg_Grad_77
It was to cloudy here to see the eclipse.

Re: Solstice Lunar Eclipse

Posted: Wed Dec 22, 2010 12:50 am
by Runner
Had a good view of it here. I watched it go completely dark then went back inside.

Re: Solstice Lunar Eclipse

Posted: Sun Dec 26, 2010 4:09 pm
by YOU'RE TIGER BAIT
we set the alarm, looked for 45 minutes, too much cloud cover, could not even locate where the moon was. i was disapointed i really wanted to say i saw it.