Lunar eclipse occurs on winter solstice
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Barring heavy cloud cover, a total eclipse of the moon will be visible early this week. The full lunar eclipse occurs on the winter solstice (north of the equator), the shortest day of the year.
Winter solstice is the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and marks the official beginning of winter. According to NASA, the Dec. 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 Tuesday, until its finish at 5:01 a.m. ET, according to NASA. The previous lunar eclipse occurred June 26.
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. Prior to this year, there were solstice full moons in 1999 (Dec. 22) and 1980 (Dec. 21). The last time this hemisphere had a total lunar eclipse occur on the same date as the winter solstice was Dec. 21, 1638.[[In-content Ad]]
Winter solstice is the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and marks the official beginning of winter. According to NASA, the Dec. 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 Tuesday, until its finish at 5:01 a.m. ET, according to NASA. The previous lunar eclipse occurred June 26.
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. Prior to this year, there were solstice full moons in 1999 (Dec. 22) and 1980 (Dec. 21). The last time this hemisphere had a total lunar eclipse occur on the same date as the winter solstice was Dec. 21, 1638.[[In-content Ad]]