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Date Posted: Monday, December 27, 11:28:05am
Author: December 21 marks the winter solstice, but in 2010 it will also host a dramatic lunar eclipse.==week 52 Week 26===Z
Subject:

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By John Millis, About.com Guide

My BioMy BlogMy ForumRSS.Total Lunar Eclipse Tuesday Morning
Sunday December 19, 2010
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December 21 marks the winter solstice, but in 2010 it will also host a dramatic lunar eclipse.

The total eclipse begins at 2:41 a.m., lasting until until 3:53 a.m. (EST). The best viewing time will at 3:17 a.m. (EST) when the Moon will appear at its reddest. There will appear darker from about 1:00 a.m. until about 5:30 a.m. (EST), though it might be difficult to notice a difference except during totality.

So why does the Moon appear red, and not go completely dark like the Sun does during a solar eclipse? Some of the Sun's light can still reach the surface because of the bending of the light around the Earth. But to complicate the matter further, the Earth's shadow is actually broken up into two distinct parts (see image below).

The umbra is the portion of the Earth's shadow that does not contain any direct radiation from the Sun. While the penumbra is the region of space where the Earth is only partially blocking the light from the Sun. As the Moon moves from outside the shadow toward the umbra the Moon will begin to appear darker and darker.

The focus of the umbra is the point at which all three celestial bodies are properly aligned. Despite this, the eclipse does not completely drape the Moon in darkness because light from the Sun can actually be refracted through the Earth's atmosphere on its way to the Moon.

The result of this refraction is that the Sun's light will be separated into individual colors. The more directly aligned the Earth, Moon and Sun are the Moon's color will transition to more of an orange hue, then red. This is actually the same phenomenon that causes the sky to appear reddish at sunset and sunrise.

When the Moon is fully contained within the umbra, the Moon is said to be in total eclipse. On Tuesday this part of the event will last about 72 minutes, while the Moon will be in at least partial eclipse for about four and a half hours.



Top Image Credit: Fred Espenak, www.MrEclipse.com

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December 20, 2010 at 6:06 pm(1) Sagar says:
I dont want to miss this opportunity

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