You have to love it when we get not just one but two astronomical events happening in consecutive nights. Monday and Tuesday evening there will be a total lunar eclipse that will overlap the winter solstice.
Depending on where you live and where you can view the night sky, late on Monday evening or early morning on Tuesday, the full moon will be darkened by the shadow of the Earth. This happens as the Earth passes between the moon and the sun. On Tuesday December 21, we celebrate the winter solstice, which is the longest night of the year. Having both the total lunar eclipse with the longest evening of the year, we are in for a very long and dark evening.
According to news reports, North and Central America will be able to view the entire eclipse beginning at 11:41p.m. PST. The eclipse should take about 3.5 hours from start to finish. According to NASA, this is the first time since 1638 that a total lunar eclipse and the winter solstice have happened on the same evening. The next time we have both in the same evening will be in 2094.
For the rookies who are not going to spend the three and a half hours standing and watching the total lunar eclipse, there is an optimal time to see the finale. Take a look outside at around 3:17 a.m. EST (or 12:17 a.m. PST) and you will see the moon at its deepest shadow. There will be a nice copper, red, toned coloring of the moon at that time.
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