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 -Â it is December, after all -Â 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.
