I’m really interested in this astronomical event, as it is very rare. The last time a lunar eclipse happened on the day of a solstice (first day of winter for the Northern Hemisphere) was 372 years ago, in 1638.
The lunar eclipse will be visible from 1:33 to 5:01 a.m. ET Tuesday, with the total eclipse starting at about 2:41 a.m., according to NASA. (source: CNN)
It’s absolutely beautiful outside this evening. I went for a walk and took a few pictures. The sky is amazingly clear. Sadly, not all of my pictures are fit to show, but I did capture a couple of interesting pre-eclipse shots. I hope I’ll be able to snap an image or two of the eclipse. I get pretty tired after 11:00 pm, so I’m not promising anything!
This was taken at an elementary school nearby. I have always wanted to take this shot.
Moon viewed through a tree’s branches.
Related articles
- Watch Total Lunar Eclipse December 2010 Online Tonight (techie-buzz.com)
- 2010′s total lunar eclipse is tonight (salon.com)
Well, I actually did it. I stayed up and watched the lunar eclipse. Here are the images that are presentable. I took a zillion. I wasn’t sure how to shoot this event. Anyhow…hopefully, you’ll see the change in the moon’s appearance. I’m glad my neighbors could not see me. They already know I have multiple cats and if they saw me taking pictures of a lunar eclipse on the winter solstice…well, they might just think I’m a little spooky.
The shadow of the earth is just beginning to cover the moon.
The shadow of the earth has progressed further over the surface of the moon.
The moon has almost completely vanished in the shadow.
Here is a time lapse video of the event. Awesome!
