Skygazers hoping to catch the last lunar eclipse of 2010 on Tuesday morning best be ready to stay up late (or wake up very early) to watch the full moon as it goes through a range of dramatic color changes.
The December 21 lunar eclipse is expected to last about three-and-a-half hours from its start as a partial eclipse at 1:33 a.m. ET to its finish at 5:01 a.m. ET, according to NASA. The previous lunar eclipse occurred June 26.
Share your images and video of the eclipse through iReport.
During a lunar eclipse, the moon, the Earth, and the sun align so that the sun's rays are shielded from the moon. An eclipse of the moon can only take place if the moon is full, and only if the moon passes through some portion of Earth's shadow, which is composed of two cone-shaped parts, one nested inside the other.
The start of the total eclipse is expected around 2:41 a.m, when the entire moon passes through the Earth's umbra, or inner shadow, which blocks all direct sunlight from reaching the moon.
The moon will take on a vibrant red color until 3:35 a.m., according to NASA.
Before and after the total eclipse, the moon will pass through the penumbra, or outer region of the Earth's shadow, where Earth blocks some of the sun's rays, but not all.
The entire event is visible from North America, Greenland and Iceland. Western Europe will see the beginning stages of the eclipse before moonset while western Asia will get the later stages after moonrise. To find out the best viewing times outside of the Eastern Time Zone, check out NASA's page on the December 21 lunar eclipse, and then refer to this handy guide for converting times.
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Half of the moon can be seen from earth, of course, because it's in a geo-synchronous orbit.
The lunar eclipse on the winter solstice, sounds like the end of the Mayan calendar to me.
@T Bear: Why don't you go to NASA, build you a space ship, then go the Uranus and sit there? So, in a nutshell, sit on Uranus.
The moon is not in a geosynchronous orbit.
1:33 to 5:01. Hmmm I think I'll pass this one up.
The moon would need to be 22,500 miles away to be in geosynchronus orbit. So if it was we probably wouldn't be here to have this conversation.
You obviously have no idea what the effin word means.
Actually, geosynchronous, in simplest terms, means that a satellite would appear to be directly overhead relative to one particular place on the globe at the same time every day. Has nothing to do with distance. It's actually a bit more complicated than that, but I'm just some dude, not a rocket scientist.
Hey, Cesar, obsessed much with Uranus?
LOL.....I was waiting for that
Beware of the Klingons near Uranus!!
Actually, more than 50% of the moon can be seen from earth. Observe the moon from the N. Pole. Got it? Now, observe the moon from the S. Pole. Figure the rest out for yourself.
So you believe you can see the back side of the moon? From where? Go back to your bong and reruns of Beavis and Butthead.
It was pleasant reading through a majority of the posts. So different than the usual bashing of others I usually read over. Looks like the really intelligent folks are responding. Very refreshing. Thanks Everyone!
Question # 1: The ISS Is 115 Miles Above Earth, What Is The Vector Distance X Angle Of The Point Between Cape Kennedy's Control Room, The Control Module Of The Station, The US Flag In The Sea of Tranquility? Question #2: Granted That The ISS Is Orbiting Earth, If One of the Astronauts Wants To Take A Picture Of the Flag, Then How Much Force Is Required To Propel The Station To The Correct Point To Include the Exact Spot Where Armstrong, Aldrin, Shepard, & Shirra Landed In 1969? Question # 3: How Much Time Would The Picture Relay To USA Today Headquarters On A Fiber Optic Connection From The ISS To Cape Kennedy To A Newspaper Stand In Washington, DC?
Question #4 – Why would anyone go to the trouble of capitalizing every single word in his statement?
Thomas, he probably typed it on his phone. Some phones do that.
The sun, earth and moon will be pretty much in line with the center of our galaxy. The sun pointing toward the center, the moon away.
Apollo missed it's targeted landing spot on the moon by several thousand yards. Back then we didn't know how we could be that far off. Now we know. do you?
Those questions are too difficult, and kinda boring. (smile)
Actually, I'm really interested in knowing "What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?
Is that an African Swallow or European Swallow?
Neeeet! Neeeeeet!
I wish I were smarter.
ok for those still wondering. go outside when it is dark. look for the moon. got it? good. keep watching moon. presto chango keep looking...wow magic see real simple even us folks in Texas can figger er out